


Second Chances

by kazosa



Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Mild Language, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-05 12:45:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 53,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazosa/pseuds/kazosa
Summary: Reader and Jeff work a project and become fast friends. The project ends and they go their separate ways, neither forgetting the other. With Hollywood being a small community, you two bump into one another either at events or projects, but there is always something keeping you apart. Will the obstacles ever end?





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to be in show business. I thought that I would be an actress, but when the time came to perform, my stage fright took over and that ended my dream of being on stage. I didn’t let that stop me from being in the business though. All through high school, I worked on all of the plays and musicals building sets and running the lighting boards for the productions. Our local community had a performance group that regularly put on shows and I managed to weasel my way into working on those as well.  
    As it turned out, I was really quite good at all of the technical aspects of the production. By the time my high school career ended, I was second in charge to the director in both high school and in the local community theater group.  
    I took all of the classes I could get at the community college and in just a year, I decided to move to Hollywood to look for work on a real production. Surprisingly, it didn’t take me very long to find work. I did work in the trenches as a production assistant. People tried to warn me that I would be treated worse than dirt, but I really didn’t care, I’d be working on something people could watch and say, “I worked on that.”  
    Production assistants deal with a LOT of crap from absolutely everyone. It’s the nice people, talent or crew, that really make the job worth while. The ones that understand that you’re just trying to do your job, the one’s who haven’t turned into a prince or princess and will still get their own lunch. It was the little things.  
    Sometimes, you’d be lucky enough to make friends with the people on the crew or cast members and they would continue to be your friend. Sometimes they completely forgot about you as soon as the production wrapped. Nine times out of ten, it was the ones who stayed friends with you that helped you get more work.  
    In 1999, I’d only been in the business for a little while and still hadn’t built up a thick skin when it came to people chewing me out. I was working on a really crap movie that had potential to be good with the actors that were on the sheet, but the script had been rewritten so many times, it had turned to a big ol’ pile of mess. But, there was one good thing that came out of that shit-show, it was where I met Jeff.

     You’d finished your lunch in record time and had found a nice quiet place to hide out until your hour was up. It was about the only time during the day when you could stop thinking and rest for a few moments. Tonight was going to run late and that meant that you’d be working 18 hours that day. You’d been yelled at so many times already, and it was only just lunch time. You were working your ass off and getting a TON of work done, but the assistant director and everyone else expected so much more out of you. You thought for sure that they needed more PAs, but there were only four of you and two had already quit. You didn’t blame them one bit, but now you were doing the work of three people and it was wearing very thin on you.  
    You sat hunched down behind a tree just big enough to hide you from view. You had your discman and headphones on playing your favorite Glenn Miller cd, it was the only thing that helped. You sat there with your eyes closed and the soothing tones of “Moonlight Serenade” just started to play when a shadow fell across you. You hoped to God and all things holy that it wasn’t the slave driver AD coming to give you even more work to do.  
    “I’m on my break, Todd,” you grumbled not opening your eyes. It may have been a nontraditional time to take a break, but you were absolutely not giving it up.  
    The person nudged your foot.

    “This tree taken?” the low, smooth voice asked.  
    At that, you shielded your eyes from the sun and cracked your eyes open to see the new cast member standing over you, holding out a bottle of water.  
    You took the bottle of water from him and cracked it, “Thanks.”  
    “You mind if I sit?” he asked.  
    “It’s a free tree,” you said, sounding much cooler than you felt and that was not saying much at all. “What about the costume?”  
    “Eh, I’ll worry about it later,” he said. “What are you listening to?”  
    You slipped off your headphones and hand them to him. You watch as he slips them on and listens to your music, waiting for him to judge you. You’d seen him on set for a few days prior to this moment, but you hadn’t had much need to talk to him since Serena was all over him. Serena was the only other PA. Working with her was like doing her work, too.  
    He didn’t judge your music choice.  
    “Swing, huh? You trying to relax or get in a good mood?” he asked handing back the headphones.  
    “Both,” you said at the same time.  
    “Don’t let ‘em get you down. I see you. You’re working your ass off and getting the job done. Anyone can see that. Try to take care of yourself, too, so you don’t get sick,” he pointed at the water bottle you’d barely touched. “You’re the only one keeping things moving around here,” he smiled, and what a smile it was. “Okay, I’m done giving advice. I’m Jeff, by the way.”  
    “(Y|N),” you said holding out your hand.  
    “Nice to meet you, (Y|N),” he said taking your hand and holding it a little longer than necessary. He cleared his throat and settled back against the tree, letting go of your hand, before continuing. “Nice spot you picked. Hope you don’t mind my intrusion.”  
    You shook your head no. You really didn’t mind at all. If it was going to be someone from the cast or crew to sit with you, you were glad it was him. You were so comfortable with him. He just had this calm, relaxed way about him. You did guess that when he was able to go out and have some fun that he was the life of the party. His energy just barely contained below the surface, and yet, he really was so calming to you.  
    Lunch breaks had been your only refuge for the last week and a half. It was the only time, it seemed, that you could get a moment of peace. Having Jeff there was nice though, the conversation was so easy. Usually you were so nervous and quiet around new people, but you found yourself chatting away. You and he both shared a lot in a short amount of time.  
     The beeping of your watch alarm told you that your lunch hour was over. Time had passed far too quickly. You dreaded turning your radio back on.  
    “(Y|N),” Jeff said getting your attention, “it’ll get better. You’ll be working on bigtime movies before you know it.”  
    You turned on your radio and were met with a barrage of angry voices asking where both you and Jeff were.  
    Keying the mic, “Found him.”  
    “Get back to set now, bring the talent!” the 1st AD barked.  
    “Missed us, huh?” he said already standing.  
    You rolled your eyes and nodded. Jeff held out his hands to pull you up.  
    “Would it be okay if I met you for your lunch tomorrow, too?” he asked. “I just like the quiet. The company is nice, too.” he grinned.  
    “Boy… If I didn’t know you were married…” you said. “Now let’s get you back on set before they completely lose their minds.”  
    You were pretty sure you would have given him anything he asked for if he only smiled at you like that. Jeff found you every day at the same time for the next two and a half weeks, and made sure that you took the much needed break on time. In that time, you kept working hard and were getting things done with efficiency. If Jeff was the only one that noticed, you decided you were okay with that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Jeff talk about finishing the shoot and make plans for the wrap party.

2nd to Last Day of Shoot  
     In the last few weeks, you and Jeff have become fast friends. You talked about everything. It was like you’d just met someone you’d known your whole life. Despite his gruff exterior, he was really quite goofy and you really liked him a lot.  
     Often, he would pick up lunch for you so you didn’t have to waste time getting it. It was nice for you because it meant you got to spend more time with him, too. The last week of shooting, you’d been on a sound stage and Jeff had found a picnic table with an umbrella outside that didn’t get used much during your break time. Jeff seemed a little anxious to you.

     He found her talking to the director and taking notes in her binder like she always did.  
     “Can you get it done?” the director asked.  
     She took only a moment to answer, “It’ll be tight. I might need a 5 minute window on that, but we should be able to keep schedule, if all goes well.”  
     Jeff stood back watching the interaction. He was proud of her. She’d gone from knowing nothing about being a PA to practically running the show. She was kicking ass.  
    She finished her notes and looked up at the director to see if there was anything else he needed.  
     “Good job, kid. Get outta here. I’m sure Jeff is waiting for you,” he smirked.  
     She looked around and smiled brightly when she saw him. The best part of Jeff’s day was seeing her smile. People were probably talking about them, but it didn’t matter. She and Jeff were just friends.  
     “Thank you, sir,” she said and went to her friend.

     “Are you gonna tell me what’s bothering you or do I have to beat it out of you?” you asked, trying to make him smile.  
     “Ah, just not looking forward to going home. Got a couple TV shows lined up, but not much.” He paused and looked up at you with those smoky bedroom eyes. “Won’t get to see my favorite PA anymore.”  
     You tried to ignore the butterflies in your stomach. “Don’t let Serena hear you say that.”  
     Serena was the only other PA on the set that had managed to make it as long as you and she was constantly all over Jeff. You didn’t blame her, Jeff was quite attractive, tall, dark hair, those eyes…  
     “Bah,” Jeff scoffed. “PAs like her are a dime a dozen. I like PAs that listen to swing music.”  
     “That’s a very specific and weird taste in PAs,” you grinned, definitely blushing.  
     “Spice of life, (Y|N), spice of life!” he told you. He changed topics, “You are going to the wrap party, right?”  
     You made a face that gave away your intentions.  
     “Aw. (Y|N), you gotta come,” he sounded genuinely disappointed.  
     You felt your heart speed up just a bit. “I don’t think I’d be much fun. Plus, I can’t drink, they’ll probably turn me away at the door. AND I don’t have a date.”  
     “Wow. You sling bullshit with a straight face. You should be an actress,” he teased. “You just wanna go home and sleep for days,” he called you out.  
     He wasn’t wrong. You were fairly certain you hadn’t gotten a good night of sleep since the shoot started. With your work hours being constant and all day long, turning your brain off to sleep had gotten hard. Sleeping instead of going to the wrap party sounded like one step this side of heaven.  
     “You can be my date. I promise they won’t turn you away and I promise I’ll make sure you have a good time. You can sleep all you want after the party,” he was trying to reason with you.  
     “What about your wife? Won’t she be upset?” you knew full well how women could be when it came to their man being seen with a strange lady.  
     “She’s busy on her own job. Plus, she’s on the other side of the country so it’s just about impossible for her to be here. Anya knows we’re friends,” he said.  
     You had an odd string of emotions hit you at the mention of his wife and the word ‘friends.’ Jealous, scared, embarrassed, hurt and disappointed.  
     “I have stipulations,” you tell him.  
     “Lay it on me,” he said waiting to hear.  
     “First, we go as friends, no funny business,” you said.  
     He chuckled a little, but nodded.  
     “Second, you’re driving. I’m tired just thinking about this night,” you realized you sounded really old, but you didn’t care.  
     Jeff nodded.  
     “Third, I’m gonna hold you to your promise. If I get too tired, or bored, I want you to take me home,” you say.  
     Jeff nods, but adds, “We could always go somewhere else if it’s early. I don’t wanna be stuck at that party without someone decent to talk to”, he paused. ”That it?” he asked.   
     It was your turn to nod.   
     He laid his arm across the table, palm up. You put your hand in his and he pulled the top of your hand to his mouth for a little kiss.  
     “Proud of you. You kicked ass and kept this shit-show on schedule,” he said.  
     “Quit making me blush,” you told him and he let go of your hand with a grin.  
     “Never,” he said.   
     Your watch alarm sounded, signaling the end of your lunch break.  
     “You know, I’m sick of that alarm ruining our break,” he said casually.  
     They got up from the table and started to make their way back inside the studio. There would be only one more lunch break for you and Jeff. That realization hit you a little hard. Jeff was holding the door for you and noticed the change in you.  
    “What’s the matter, (Y|N)? Are you okay?” he asked concerned.  
     You could feel the tears trying to escape your eyes. You willed them to stay put. How could you tell a guy that he was the best part of your day for the last few weeks? How do you tell a guy that you’d, practically, just met that you were going to miss him?  
     “I can’t believe tomorrow is wrap day,” you said holding back both your emotions and thoughts.  
     He pulled you into a hug. “Relieved or sad?” he asked. You felt his words rather than heard them. It felt nice to be pressed against his chest.  
     You looked up at him and tried to smile, “Both,” you said together and he released you from the quick hug.  
     He put his arm around your shoulder and you put your arm around his waist. You didn’t know why you weren’t nervous around him. If he were any other man, you’d have been sweating by now. Jeff was different. He was easy to be around, no pressure.   
     You two walked together for a moment before parting.  
    “If I don’t see you before we knock off for the night, see you tomorrow, sweetheart,” he said with a sad little smile.  
     “See ya, Jeff,” you said.  
     God, it’s only been a couple of weeks. It’s not like you’ve known him forever. But it feels like you’ve been friends a long time. Shut up, you’re acting like you have a school-girl crush. He’s married, you need to stop.   
     You watched him walk away. His gait so unique to him. Broad shoulders, narrow waist. You hoped tomorrow wouldn’t be the last day you saw him.  
     You turned your radio back on.  
     “….back yet? (Y|N), we need you in video village.”  
     You sighed and cued your mic, “Be right there.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last lunch break for Reader & Jeff

Last Day of Production  
    The producers wanted one last full day of filming. In their infinite wisdom, they saved the last scene to be filmed as one that the whole cast was in. Things were not going well. There had already been a makeup and wardrobe SNAFU and the boom truck broke down. That truck was critical in getting the master shot for the last scene. It had to be fixed and fast. In the meantime, you had to scramble to help get the next shot set up so you didn’t lose too much time.  
     You didn’t realize that your break time had come and gone until your alarm sounded. More than a little disappointed that Jeff hadn’t come to get you, you tried to let it go. He must have had a good reason, right? Doubt made it’s way back in your head. Even when you’d been busy before, he’d waited for you. Had he waited and you just didn’t see him? He wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.  
     You caught the eye of the first AD, Todd, and signaled to him that you were taking your break. He nodded he understood and you made your way to the catering tent.   
     Julius, the caterer, had your container waiting for you under the heat lamp. In his now familiar handwriting, you saw your name written on top of the container. Julius was a sweet old man. He must have been about 900 years old and had gotten off the fashion train somewhere in the 70s. Every day, he had on a different, spectacular polyester combo.  
     “Thanks, Jules!” you called out.  
     “Miss (Y|N), is that you?” you heard his voice from somewhere deeper inside the tent, beyond where you could see.  
     “Yes sir. Where are you?”  you said.  
     From somewhere further in the tent, Julius emerged. Today was a blue paisley shirt and brown pants. He was still tall, but you could tell he was once a bigger man since the retro clothes now hung loosely on his frame.  
     “(Y|N), that boy was here askin’ after you,” Julius said.  
     Your spirits soared, Jeff hadn’t forgotten about you, after all. You also loved Julius for calling a 33 year old man a “boy.” You were definitely gonna miss Julius.  
     “Oh yeah? What did he want?” you were curious.  
     “He didn’t say, just asked if you’d been in yet. I think he’s got a surprise he’s cookin’ up for you,” he said.  
     You couldn’t hold back a smile. If Jeff was planning a surprise, it meant you were on his mind more than he let on. It was a sweet gesture no matter what it was, especially from your b… From your friend. He’s a good friend, you reminded yourself.  
     “Too bad that boy is married,” he emphasized, “ ‘cuz he’s sweet on you.”  
     “You think so?” your cheeks felt like they were on fire.  
     “Sweetheart, anyone that’s got eyes can see how you two look at each other,” he pointed at your food box, “You take that to the picnic table. I bet you’ll find him there.”  
     You thanked Julius for your lunch and wished him well, telling him you hoped to see him again. He just waved and said, “small town, honey.”  
     Walking toward the picnic table, you had to think, was it really so obvious? Did Jeff really have feelings for you? You knew you had a massive crush on him, but he was older and, more importantly, married. Was your crush more than just a crush? Was Jeff even aware of what others seemed to clearly see?  
     You rounded the corner that led to where the picnic table sat. Jeff was sitting on it backwards with his elbows resting on the table. He saw you and stood up smiling that spectacular smile of his, his arms stretched wide. You noticed that the table had a red and white checkered cloth on it and two boxes. One box was larger than the other, the smaller being more flat. Jeff was walking toward you.  
     You were still dazed from what Julius had told you, so when Jeff swept you up into his arms, you just went with it. He spun you around and set you down.  
     “It’s about time. I was getting worried that you’d be gone all day,” he said. “C’mon, sit down, I’m sure you need to.”  
     How did he always know what you needed? You sat down at the table with him on one side, you on the other. After devouring your sandwich in a very unladylike way, you were starting to settle down. Jeff told you that he came by to see what you were doing, but didn’t interrupt because he needed the time to find the table cloth and other items that were on the table.  
     He wanted you to open the larger of the two boxes first.  
     You lifted the lid and inside, there was a small, personal-sized chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a #1 in piped frosting on the top.  
     “I though you needed a congrats-on-kicking-ass-on-your-first-job cake,” he said.  
     “Oh my God, you’re the best. Thank you! This is so nice!” you said. You were so grateful you’d met him. He really was a good friend.  
     Together, you both at the cake. It was delicious and you were stuffed. It was going to be hard to finish the rest of the day! The small box on the table was calling out to you. You were dying to know what was inside. Obviously, it was for you, but what could it be?  
     Jeff took the box in his large hand, making the box look smaller than it is. You could tell he was having a hard time trying to think of how he was going to tell you about what was in the box.  
     He put it on the table and pushed it to you.  
    “I just thought you might like this and when you wear it, I hope you remember this experience as a good thing,” he said sounding incredibly shy.  
    You opened the box to reveal a beautiful star-shaped crystal necklace.

     Your hand went over your mouth immediately, hoping to staunch the gasp you were sure was audible. You’d told Jeff way back on the first day you met that you had stars tattooed on your feet and that it was your lucky symbol. Looking at the necklace he gave you told you so many things. Taking it out of the box, you tried to put it on, but your hands wouldn’t work.   
     “Does that mean you like it?” he asked sounding hopeful.  
     You couldn’t do anything but nod. Were you going to wear this necklace and remember this shoot as a good experience? Hell yes.  
     Jeff came around to your side of the table to help you. You held your hair out of the way for him so he could see. His nimble fingers managed the small clasp easily and you felt his fingertips brush the tender skin of your neck, giving you goosebumps. You knew you would always wear the necklace.  
     Somewhere in your haze, you made your plan for the next evening’s wrap-party. Autopilot took over (thank goodness) and you wrote your party plans in your binder. Jeff said he was going to wear jeans and a t-shirt, because “fuck ‘em and this stupid movie.” You did remember telling him you’d wear something nice if you could.  
     “Sweetheart, as long as you’re with me, I don’t care what you wear,” he said.  
     Be still my heart.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hotel before the party and the party at a local bar.

Hotel Lounge 8pm  
     Being with Jeff didn’t make you nervous, it was the anticipation that made you nervous. The entire shoot, you’d had on ratty old jeans and t-shirts with your work boots, and your hair was always in a ponytail with your favorite hat. Tonight was a whole other side of you that you were going to show him. You were always more comfortable in jeans and a tee, but your life was about taking risks now, right? Moving to Hollywood was definitely a big risk and now you were going to your first-ever wrap-party. It didn’t matter much that you thought the final product would be shit, the point was, you’d worked your ass off every single day and you were proud of yourself.  
     You’d gone shopping for an outfit earlier in the day. After all of the crap you’d had to deal with, you felt you earned yourself a pretty dress. Yesterday, you’d told Jeff that you were going to be wearing something nice if you could find it. You wanted to show off a little and get a cocktail dress. 

     The fireplace in the middle of the hotel lounge had floor to ceiling mirrors on either side of it. For the millionth time, you checked your look and made sure that the necklace he’d bought you was laid just right. Finally satisfied with how you looked, you did a little twirl in front of the mirror.

     He’d decided to wear his suit after all. When she said she was going to wear something nice, he didn’t want to let her down with the jeans and t-shirt he said he was going to wear. Plus, he could ditch the jacket and tie if he needed to to get more casual.  
     He rounded the corner into the lobby of the hotel. He didn’t see (Y|N) so he went to the front desk to ask them to call a cab for you both. Jeff knew he would be drinking tonight and didn’t want to risk driving her. He noticed the name tag of the hotel employee, Jennifer.  
     “If I could trouble you for one more thing,” he said.  
     She looked at him and smiled faintly, “Yes sir?”  
     “Have you seen a pretty young lady in here, about this tall, hair about to here?” he asked. He was a little concerned and thought about going to knock on her door.  
     “Yes, Mr. Morgan, she’s in the lounge,” Jennifer said.  
     “Thank you,” he said and went to the tall archway that led to the lounge. He didn’t know what he expected, but she’d blown it all out of the water. He watched as she wandered around and checking her look in the mirror. He smiled when she spun around. He noticed she was wearing heels. She was already tall and that made her long legs look even longer. As the skirt lifted when she spun around, he had a vision of what those legs would be like wrapped around…  
     “Oh! Hi!,” she said waving to him.  
     This might be a rough night.   
     When one was near, the other was drawn in. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d had to hold himself back from going to her whenever he saw her. They’d closed the space between them to a little more than arm’s reach, like maybe their subconscious’ were aware of their need to be close but stay separate.

     “My, my, you sure do clean up nice,” she teased. “What happened to ‘fuck ‘em and this stupid movie’?”  
     He shrugged, “You deserve a better ‘date’ than a crabby slob.”  
     He noticed she was wearing the star necklace he’d bought her and that made him happy. He sighed contentedly and smiled at her.  
     “You look beautiful,” he said softly.  
     She smiled brightly and that cute blush showed up on her again, making her skin have a light pink glow.  
     “Thank you,” she beamed, “You’re quite handsome in this suit.”  
     She looked you up and down and nodded in approval.   
     “So I need the suit to look handsome?” he tried to sound hurt.  
     She just smiled at his jab, “No, but it helps.”

     For a shoot that had started out so badly, and you thought it would go on forever. The last, almost three weeks, had gone by so quickly. You felt like you’d taken a gut punch and you both realized that this was it. There were no more shoot days. No more lunch breaks. No more stolen glances. No more long talks. This could very well be the last time either of you would see each other. After tonight, you would go back to your homes, to your lives outside of shooting a movie, without the other.  
     “What am I going to do without you?” you blurted out, instantly regretting it, but there was no taking it back now.  
     Jeff gave you a sad smile and said, “You’ll keep kicking ass and before you know it you’ll be a director or producer. You don’t need me to do that.”  
     You were feeling frantic, desperate for some sort of lifeline to him. You’d brought a bag down to the lobby with a change of clothes and flip-flops, in case you couldn’t stand the dress anymore, as well as your binder. That thing held your life in it. You tore out a sheet of paper and wrote your name and cell phone number on it.  
     “I’d hate it if I never heard from you again,” you said, holding the paper up to him. Somehow you’d moved closer together, there was barely room to breathe between you two. You wanted to kiss him so badly.  
     His hand covered yours as he took the paper. The heat from his hand made your skin tingle. You watched as the tucked the paper into his inside jacket pocket.  
     You made yourself look up into his eyes. His eyes had tuned into molten orbs of desire. Your heart was pounding inside your chest, you thought for sure he could hear it. His head slowly dipped toward yours…  
     “Excuse me,” Jennifer, the front desk clerk interrupted, “Mr. Morgan, your taxi is here.”

     He was not good at being the model of restraint, he didn’t want to be, not with her. The only thing that had saved him from kissing her, or more, right then and there was the desk clerk coming in to tell them about the taxi. He wanted her, and he felt guilty for wanting her. She had opened up something in him that he hadn’t known was closed. There was a connection with her that he didn’t even have with his wife. He didn’t want to feel this way about (Y|N). She needed a friend, not someone trying to get her into bed.  
     His frustration with himself only grew. He kept having a silent argument in his head about what it was, exactly, that he felt for (Y|N).  
     His hand went to his chest and he felt the paper in his pocket crinkle under his hand. Maybe he could just let himself forget that it was there for a while. He told himself that what they had was just a really good friendship and that there was no way she could feel the same way about him as he did her. It was all just friendly flirtation.   
     He had promised (Y|N) that he would make sure she had a good time and he was intent on keeping that promise. They sat in the back of the taxi together. He looked over at her, the fading light of summer resting on her cheek. She really did look beautiful.

Wrap-party   
     The party was turning out to be the best part of the film shoot. The drinks were flowing, but not to you, the music was good (and loud) and it looked like everyone was having a good time. You knew that the production company didn’t have much else lined up for the night except running a tab on drinks for everyone.   
     You were sitting at a high-top table with Todd, the 1st AD of all people. He was actually pretty decent when he wasn’t chewing you out. Jeff had his hand on the back of your chair and was leaning on the table, effectively blocking you from people getting too close to trigger your anxiety, and you appreciated that kindness.   
     Jeff had taken off his jacket a long time ago and had rolled up his sleeves. The jacket was folded in half and hanging over the back of your chair. You knew Jeff was standing close, you could feel the heat from his body near your shoulder. It was nice knowing he was close and, sort of, protecting you.   
    Your table seemed to be the place to be. Almost everyone from the production came over to chat at least once during the night and some of them brought over drinks for Jeff and you. Maybe they weren’t such bad people after all, and since most people didn’t know how old you were, you got some special drinks. It took a while, but you started getting a little buzz going.  
     Serena, of course, had to come over and start something.  
     “Hi Jeff,” she said in her most flirtatious way.  
     You doubt Serena noticed, but Jeff moved closer to you.  
     “Serena,” he said. “I believe you know my date, (Y|N).”  
     Serena made a face at me that I could only assume meant she was acknowledging my presence.  
     “So, are you two a thing or what?” she asked too bluntly for your liking.  
     Jeff put his hand on your shoulder, sensing your irritation.  
     “We’re just friends, Serena,” he said more gently than she deserved.  
     “Well, you don’t look like friends,” she snipped. “Not with the way you two are together.”  
     “What the hell would you know about being a friend to someone? I was brand new at this job and instead of being a decent human being and helping me, you let me struggle on my own and left me to do half of your work, too. Screw you, Serena,” you railed at her.  
     She made an unattractive face and left the table. Todd and Jeff turned to you, both seemed to have the same expression, amazed.  
     “I shoulda done that weeks ago,” you said.  
     Jeff burst out laughing, “Yes, you should have!”  
     The night continued on for a few more hours. People were still having a good time, but the crowd was starting to thin out. Jeff took you over to the dart board to see how good your aim was. What you really wanted was to dance with him, but that would have been too much. That would have been crossing a line.  
     Sometimes you thought maybe Jeff forgot the arrangement. He would lean down and say sweet things in your ear, or have some little remark that was meant only for your ear which always sent goosebumps down your side. He was smiling and having a good time and since he was having a good time, you were, too. He was a good person to have at your side.  
     “You wanna get out of here? Go find something else to do? I think I saw a bowling alley and a movie theater that weren’t too far away,” he suggested.  
     You thought of the bag you’d brought along that had your clothes in it, “That sounds like a great idea. Just let me go change my clothes?”  
     “I’ll be right here,” he said, back at the high-top table you’d been sitting at before.  
     You took the bag and went to the restroom to change your clothes. It felt good to get out of that dress, even if it had been comfortable. You felt more like yourself in your shorts and t-shirt. After carefully folding the dress and putting it in the bag with the shoes, you gave yourself a once over in the mirror before heading back out to Jeff.  
     You walked out just in time to see him with a tall, pretty woman. They were standing like they were going to leave together. When Jeff put on his jacket, he turned and saw you. The expression on his face told you everything you needed to know. He patted the pocket that held the paper with your phone number and blew you a kiss from across the room. The woman was Anya, his wife, and he was leaving with her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader goes to another party and has a chance encounter.

Flash Forward 2002  
Your POV:  
     Not gonna lie, it hurt watching Jeff walk away. I was unsure of so many things, but I was sure that Jeff at least liked me. I don’t know what I expected from him, but I thought I deserved to have a proper goodbye. What happened at the bar made me feel like a cheap mistress.  
     I was mad at him for a long time which was also his fault because he didn’t call me at all, not once. We could have talked things over and maybe I would have been able to forgive him sooner. By the time I’d forgiven him and let it go, I felt like I’d missed my shot, that I was too late. I didn’t have his phone number, but I could have gotten it, I’d just gotten to where I was too scared to do so.  
     Oddly enough, it was Todd, the first AD from the movie, that was there to help me pick up the pieces and help me through my issues. Todd was the one who gave me a business card for a producer at Fox Studios. He’d lined up a job to be AD on an episode of “The X-Files” and suggested I send in my app. I’d had a quick interview over the phone with Kim Manners and he said he wanted to meet me, so I had decided to make a vacation of it and packed clothes for a week. I ended up staying for 3 years.  
     Kim had offered me the job and it was awesome. I got to work on one of the coolest shows on TV and it was nice to have a somewhat regular schedule. The show had run for twelve years and wasn’t renewed for another season, so I was out of a job. The studio was going to throw us a big party in LA a few weeks after the show wrapped. There would be a screening of the finale in an auditorium and some live music, probably more, in a ballroom at the same location. Pretty much everyone that had ever worked on the show was going to be there, and the usual celebrity invites were sent.  
     You were in your bathroom getting ready to go to the party. You had curled your hair and had it pinned back so the curls cascaded down to your shoulders. You decided to wear a black dress. It was somewhat form fitting but the material felt like a t-shirt and that was what sold you on it. Simple silver jewelry, your star necklace that you always wore, black heels with an ankle strap and a clutch were your accessories.  
     “Babe, you ready to go yet?” Todd said from the bathroom door.  
     “Uh, yeah. How do I look, okay?” you said giving him the full view.  
     Todd’s mouth was hanging open just a bit. “Jesus.”  
     You smiled. “So, good?”  
     “Yeah, you look amazing,” he said.  
     His eyes briefly landed on the necklace. You knew Todd didn’t really like you wearing the necklace that Jeff had bought you, but he knew that it was more to you than something Jeff had given you. It reminded you to always work hard and never give up and it had paid off. 

     You’d been promoted to a production coordinator the last year of the X-Files. Kim had fought hard for you to get that promotion and you’d wanted to knock it out of the park and make him proud. It certainly helped that it was the last year and if you messed it up too much, it really didn’t have much bearing on the show’s success!  
     Proving again that working hard and doing a good job for your employer pays off, Kim had given your name to someone he knew. This person was going to be an executive producer on a cable show tentatively named “Hack” for HBO. Just the week prior to the party and one week after production ended, you got a call from Bob Singer inviting you down to the States to begin filming in Philadelphia in just 2 months.  
     You crossed the room to him and pushed Todd out of the bathroom. You were both ready now and he drove you to the party.

     Whenever you were nervous, you touched the star that hung round your neck, and you were nervous now. Todd had gone ahead to find a spot for you to sit and you didn’t like being left alone to get through this big of a crowd. You hated being sentimental, but every time you touched it, you remembered how calming Jeff had been for you and it helped to settle your nerves. Events like this one worked your crowded spaces anxiety pretty hard. You were starting to feel hot. People were everywhere and people bumping into you was something that you had the most difficulty with. You never understood how people didn’t see you. You were quite tall even in flats and people would still bump you. “How do you not see me?!”  you always thought.  
     Your irritation meter was pegged. Your skin started to feel prickly. You swore if one more person bumped into you, you were going to give ‘em a piece of your mind. Where the hell was Todd?! You stopped to open your clutch to pull out your cell phone when it happened. Someone had slammed into you so hard, you stumbled sending your clutch and cell phone flying. You watched as the contents of your clutch emptied all over the red carpet.  
     “GODDAMNIT!” you didn’t yell, but you were definitely loud with your production coordinator voice in full effect. You felt all of the eyes turn toward you and your outburst, but you didn’t care, you were sick of people being so damn rude.   
     You crouched down to pick up the things that had fallen near your feet.  
     “I’m so sorry. No, no, let me do that,” a low, smooth voice said.  
     It had been a while, but you knew that voice. The goosebumps let you know you weren’t imagining it. The man’s shoes were beat up boots, he wore jeans, and if you stood up to look at his shirt, you would bet it was a t-shirt, maybe a suit jacket over it.  
     “Let me help you up,” he said.  
     You put one hand in his and the other went to the star around your neck. The old habit didn’t seem to help this time. You let go of his hand but couldn’t look up into his eyes.  
     The man put your things back inside your clutch.  
     “Sweetheart,” he said.  
     The goosebumps again. Where the hell was Todd?!  
     “You gotta let me apologize,” he said.  
     You put your hands on the clutch and tried to take it, but he wouldn’t let you.  
     “You already did,” you said.

Jeff’s side:  
     He hated these events. The only thing they were good for was seeing old friends and networking, otherwise, it was all meaningless bullshit. Case in point, he’d just finished talking to an old acquaintance, Jerry, about getting together for drinks some night.   
     He’d finished his conversation with Jerry and, as he turned to walk inside, he didn’t notice the woman that had stopped behind him and he slammed into her, sending her little purse flying. It wasn’t until he saw the light glint off the star hanging around her neck that he realized who she was.  
     Oh Jesus, it’s (Y|N), he thought.  
     He wanted to dash away, but he couldn’t, not again. He’d wanted to call her so many times. He almost did more than a few, even dialed once or twice. He had good reasons, at the time, not to call. Now, he couldn’t remember what a single reason was.  
     He missed her a lot, at first. He often thought about that last night he was with her, how he almost kissed her at the hotel. If he was going to be honest with himself, he knew back then that something wasn’t right between him and Anya. If he had really been in love with his wife, he wouldn’t have had those feelings for (Y|N). It took him a long time to realize that he was drawn to her for a reason, and now here he was, literally running into her at an event.  
     She wouldn’t look at him when he called her “sweetheart.” He supposed he didn’t deserve to call her that anymore. All he wanted to do was tell her how sorry he was and that he should never have left with Anya, at least, not without saying goodbye. He wanted to explain to her why he did the things he did, but on the red carpet was not a good place to talk.

 

     “No, I mean for before. For leaving without saying goodbye, for leaving the way I did. It wasn’t fair to you. Can we talk about it sometime?” he said.  
     You really wanted to tell him off. He actually wanted to talk now. “You mean like you should have done three years ago?”  
     He had that coming and he knew it, “Yes, like that. Can I meet you after the party to talk?”  
     “You got a lot of balls asking me that,” you practically hissed. “Tell you what, if you can find me, you can talk to me.”  
     “Babe, everything okay?” Todd had finally reappeared.  
     The moment got very awkward as Todd realized it was Jeff who had caused (Y|N)’s current irritation.  
     “Oh, it’s you,” Todd said, unimpressed.  
     Jeff gave Todd the same look. Todd had been the cause of a lot of (Y|N)’s anxiety during their film shoot. What in the hell was he doing here with her?  
     “Todd, you remember Jeff,” you said.  
     “Of course, he does. Otherwise he wouldn’t be giving me that look right now. Are you two together?” Jeff asked.  
     “We are and we’re very happy,” Todd said holding his arm out to you.  
     You took it and he led you away. You couldn’t form a coherent thought until Todd had you seated in the auditorium.  
     “Wanna tell me what is going on?” Todd’s voice sounded accusatory.  
     “He ran into me and it made me drop my purse,” you said, still a little dazed. “I had no idea he’d be here.”  
     Todd was the one who had helped put you back together after the wrap-party incident. You thought you’d sorted through it all, but now it all came flooding back to you. The weight of the star resting on your chest was bound to suffocate you, but you couldn’t bear to take it off.

Todd’s side:  
     He saw the whole thing, the look in her eyes when she watched him walk out the door, the tears that welled up. He’d gone to her and put an arm around her shoulders and helped her back to the table. He didn’t ask her if she wanted a drink, he just pushed his fresh drink in front of her and let her go. Todd had seen the way they were together, everyone had, and no one begrudged them any of it, sometimes a person had to take happiness when it presented itself. It had been obvious to everyone that they had something special, whatever it was. Watching Jeff throw it all away and the hurt he had caused (Y|N) had made it all come across so cheap.  
     It took a few days for what happened to really set in. She had a lot of issues to deal with and he’d been there for her. He had gotten a job in Vancouver and suggested she put in an app with the studio, and just as he’d thought, they offered her a job and they each got a place to live in Vancouver.  
     His feelings for her didn’t just happen overnight, it took a while and now they were in a place where she was good without Jeff and they had a good life together. They were even talking about getting a place together in Philadelphia rather than two separate places.

     “Do you want me to kick his ass?” he said seriously.  
     You tried not to laugh in Todd’s face. Instead, you just smiled at his offer. There was no way he could take Jeff. Jeff had at least 50 pounds on him and was probably 6 inches taller. Jeff was also not afraid to throw down and would destroy Todd.   
     “Don’t worry about it, Todd,” you said putting your hand on top of his. “I really don’t think he’ll be a bother.”  
     “Didn’t he say he wanted to talk to you?” Todd asked.  
     “Yeah, but his track record for that isn’t the greatest. Let’s just try to enjoy the party, okay?” you said, more calmly than you were feeling.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader, Jeff, and Todd(OC) have talks about past wrongs

Jeff watched Todd walk away with (Y|N). A rock sat in his stomach when he realized this must have been what it was like for her three years ago. He didn’t like Todd before and he really didn’t like him now, he wanted to kick his ass. He saw Todd’s hand rest on the small of her back as he led (Y|N) away. It could have been him, it should have been him. He should have been the one to tell her how beautiful she looked before leaving for the party. He should have been the one to help her out of that dress at the end of the night and SHOW her how he felt about her.  
     He trudged his way inside, ignoring all requests for photos. He was in no mood to smile.  
     “And what if he does come to talk?” Todd pressed. He looked like he was trying hard not to be angry. He cheeks were red with effort.  
     “Todd, at the very least, I miss my friend. I think it’s okay if I hear him out,” you said calmly.  
     “After what he did to you?! He crooks his little finger and you go running?” Todd accused.  
     “Excuse the hell out of me!? It’s not like that at all and you damn well know it,” you shot back. “I’m allowed to have friends, damnit!”  
     “I can’t do it again, (Y|N),” he said. “I can’t put you back together when he breaks your heart again. I can’t bear it.”  
     You could feel your cheeks get hot now. “I never asked you to in the first place. I’m just going to talk to him, Todd, that’s all it’s ever been between us. I’ve told you that.”  
     Todd was doing his best to stow his anger. He was right, though, you’d been a mess and were tough to be around for months. He didn’t deserve to go through that again. You liked him a lot, but you weren’t sure you were in love with him, maybe you could be. You wanted to give him that chance.

     The screening of the final episode was finished and they ran the send-off reel and gag reel in succession. Todd had relaxed a bit in that time, but you hadn’t. You’d barely paid attention to the last two reels and you were even in them.  
     As the gag reel was getting close to the end, you could hear Todd’s phone buzzing inside his coat pocket. You swore he never turned the damn thing off. He checked the display and sighed.  
     “You gonna be okay?” he asked.  
     “Do you have to go?” you asked back.  
     “It’s my boss. I’ll call him back to see what he wants, but I probably have to go in,” he said. “I’ll call you or text you when I know, okay?”  
     Todd was working on a new project and the producer was including him on a lot of decisions and development because he was finally going to be a director. You wished he would tell the producer ‘no’ but he never did. It was a big night for you and you wanted him with you, especially since you’d been shocked by Jeff’s sudden appearance. You barely nodded to Todd and he was gone.

     Jeff crossed paths with Todd in the lobby as people were starting to file out.  
     “Hey!” he stopped Todd, “Where’s (Y|N)?”  
     “Just stay away from her, she doesn’t want you,” Todd said, continuing walking.  
     “You left her in there? By herself?!” he was trying to talk to Todd, but he was gone.  
     Jeff forced his way through the crowd of people and got back inside the auditorium. He scanned the people that were walking out, but he didn’t see her. When he and (Y|N) used to talk, she’d mentioned once how she gets bad anxiety when there are too many people too close to her. It gets worse when they start bumping into her, if she panics and can’t move…  
     Why is it so dark in here? he thought. He noticed the pillars on the outside walls and went to check there. He found her a third of the way up trying to make herself as small as possible and get into the gap between the wall and the round pillar. He noticed the earbuds attached to her phone and she was counting while breathing.  
     “(Y|N), sweetheart,” he said, he hoped loud enough to reach her over the swing music she was, no doubt, listening to. Her eyes opened with a sharp intake of air. The look on her face broke his heart.

     You heard your name over the music. His voice startled you a bit and you opened your eyes in the direction of the voice. Disappointed he wasn’t Todd. Disappointed you were glad it was Jeff. You closed your eyes and sighed, you barely had to nod for him to know it was okay to touch you.  
     He had you clutched to his chest before you could move any further. He had both arms wrapped tightly around you, your face in his neck. You put your arms around him under his jacket appreciating his warmth in the cold auditorium. One arm held you tightly and he moved the other to rub your shoulder.  
     You missed how effortlessly he made you feel better. Sometimes, all it took was to be near him. Clasping the star necklace and remembering him had been enough, at first. As the years passed, it got harder to remember what it was like being near him. You’d been about to have a full breakdown when he reached you and you’d held that necklace so tight, it left a sore spot on your hand. Being pressed tightly to him, his familiar scent, you could feel yourself calming down already, your heartrate going back to normal, your skin feeling less prickly.  
     He loosened his tight hold on you when he felt you start to pull away, but he wouldn’t let you go just yet. He brushed the loose strands of hair out of your face.  
     “Where do you want to go, sweetheart?” he asked.  
     “I don’t care. Anywhere but here,” you said looking up at him.  
     “You okay? Can you walk out?” he asked, his brown eyes dark with concern.  
     A wave of self-consciousness washed over you. Jeff had just witnessed you in one of your worst panic attacks, but he was still here and asking if you were okay to walk. You told him once how a bad panic attack could leave you exhausted, and he’d remembered…  
     You gave him a weak smile, “I’m okay.”  
     He didn’t believe you, so he took your hand and wrapped your arm around his and tucked you into his side. He rested his hand on top of yours, effectively preventing you from trying to bolt. He rubbed the soft skin on the back of your hand as he walked you out of the now nearly empty auditorium.

     Outside, in front of the venue, you waited under the awning while Jeff talked to the valet service. You crossed your arms in front of you and took a deep breath of the night air.  
     You’d missed him, more than you thought you could. You’d only known him three weeks, but you’d both thrown yourselves into those short weeks. Jeff felt like your best friend and being away from him had left a void in your life you didn’t know you needed filled until now. It was like you were underwater and fighting to get to the surface and he was the one to reach in the water and pull you out.  
     He’d taken your arm and tucked you into his side and now that he’d had to let you go, his emptiness of his absence sent a jab to your heart. You looked over at him to find him watching you intently with his hands shoved down hard in his jacket pockets, his expression hard to read.   
     You tried to steel yourself against him. It would be too easy to fall back into your old ways with him. Even now, after three long years, you felt yourself being drawn to him. Somehow, if one of you ever saw the other, you would end up right next to one another. You willed your feet to listen to your brain and stay put when your heart wanted to run to him. The last thing you wanted though, was to break up a marriage or ruin a good thing with Todd.  
     Finally, the valet came around with Jeff’s truck. You noticed he’d had some work done to the ol’ girl, the rust was gone, new paint job and a chrome grille. The sound that came from the truck as the valet ground the gears made you both cringe. Jeff said something to the poor kid before going to the passenger door to open it for you to get in.  
     “She looks good, Jeff,” you told him as you swung your legs in.  
     “Thanks, she’s worth it,” he said, looking into your eyes.  
     Jeff closed your door gently then went around the front of the truck to get in beside you. He’d gotten better looking, the jerk. He put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the street. Together you drove for a few moments before either of you said anything.  
     “You look beautiful, (Y|N),” he said his voice a little thick.  
     You scoffed and gave him side-eye, “You tryin’ to butter me up?”  
     He flashed that amazing grin at you, “Depends, is it working?”  
     Damnit, he’s so charming. Steel yourself!  
     “Jeff, you left me high and dry at that bar. Not saying bye to me or introducing me to your wife made me feel like what we had was dirty and wrong and that I meant nothing to you. So, no, it’s not working,” it came out harsher than what you had intended.  
     Jeff remembered that night all too clearly.  
JEFF’S SIDE  
     Of course, he’d told Anya about the wrap-party as soon as he knew the plan was solid. When he’d called her to see if she could work it out to come, she told him that she had a full shooting day and probably wouldn’t be able to make it. She also gave him the distinct impression that she didn’t want to try, either.  
     When he found out that (Y|N) was planning on not going to the party, it worked out perfectly. He could help his new friend get out of her shell a bit and he could have someone he liked to spend the evening with. He told himself that it was what friends did, because that’s all they were, friends.  
     The whole shoot, he’d tried to ignore how cute she was with her hair in a ponytail and hat, her sprinkle of freckles, her pretty (E|C) that never really seemed to stay the same shade. Then he walked into the hotel lounge and saw her. There was no ignoring those legs, her figure… If she hadn’t noticed him, he coulda just watched her all night. She had no idea what she did to him.  
     When she’d spotted him and made eye contact, it was like the switch had been flipped for them to move together. When she leaned over to get something out of her bag, he admired her round ass. She stood up and somehow the space between them had barely left them room to breathe they were so close. Jesus, how did that happen?! She wanted him to kiss her, he was sure of it. He thought, for certain, that there was never anything or anyone that he’d wanted so much in his life. He was ready to throw caution to the wind, consequences be damned.  
      One second longer and he wouldn’t have been responsible for what might have happened in that hotel lounge. If Jennifer, the hotel desk clerk, hadn’t interrupted… Instead, they went to the wrap-party.  
     He remembered from one of their conversations that she didn’t like crowded spaces so while at the party, he’d made himself something like a protective barrier for her. He’d promised her he would make sure she had a good time and he figured that would help. It also meant that he got to be close to her all night, whisper funny remarks in her ear, tell her how pretty she looked… She was so easy to be around. He didn’t have to try with (Y|N) like he did with Anya.  
     What he hadn’t known was that Anya had come in to surprise him and had seen him with (Y|N). Anya used (Y|N)’s going to the restroom to change as her opportunity to swoop in and accuse him of cheating.  
     “Anya, we came here together, I can’t just leave her,” he tried to reason.  
     “Well, this will be a good lesson for her to not be messing around with another woman’s husband!” she spat.  
     “I told you it’s…” he began but she cut him off.  
     “Not like that? My ass! I saw how you were with her. If I can see it that quickly, what do all of these people think? Jesus, Jeffrey!” she hissed.  
     It was no use, she wasn’t going to back down. Rather than continue to cause a scene, he gave in to her. Perhaps a little out of guilt, too. He’d been having a really enjoyable time with (Y|N). He was getting his coat on when he saw (Y|N) had come out of the restroom. It broke his heart. He wanted to hug her and tell her so many things. Instead, all he could do was pat his chest pocket where her phone number was and blow her a kiss, thankful she couldn’t see the tears welling up in his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Jeff go for a drive and talk things out.

“Sweetheart, I would have done almost anything to stay there with you, but I needed to make a tough decision. I chose my marriage,” he said. “I thought I made the right decision.”  
     You wanted to be mad at him. You wanted him to say something terrible so you could hate him properly, but no, he had the audacity to be his sweet, caring self and not the asshole you wanted him to be. It wasn’t lost on you, however, that he’d said it was a “tough decision.”  
     You took a ragged breath and touched your fingertips to your lips as you looked out the window. You’d spent months and months telling yourself that what you’d felt for Jeff was just a stupid crush and there was no way he felt the same about you. It had been quite an evening already and it wasn’t even over.  
     Jeff changed the subject, “You and Todd? Really?”  
     You rolled your eyes and looked over at him. “Aside from tonight, he’s been there for me when I needed him.”  
     Jeff nodded, considering her words. “I’m going to say this one time then I’ll drop it. I don’t like the guy. I don’t trust him and I damn sure don’t like how he treated you tonight. If he ever hurts you in any way, I will beat his ass,” the last words coming through gritted teeth.  
     You don’t think you’d ever heard Jeff talk like that before, but you absolutely believed him. Honestly, sometimes you wanted to kick Todd’s ass, too. Sometimes he was a real jerk and then there were days where you thought you could really love him and you wanted to see if it could work for you two. He’d given so much of himself to you, you almost felt like he deserved your devotion, at least until you knew what your feelings were for him.  
     “Why didn’t you call?” you asked quietly.

     One uninterrupted hour each day. Stolen moments between shots when (Y|N) had a few minutes. Sometimes they had dinner, too. That was all it took. He didn’t fully understand until he was home with Anya for a few months.  
     At first, he didn’t call (Y|N) because of how he had left her that night. Then, when she was all he thought about, he got scared. She was barely 20 when he met her. He knew he needed to get his head straight before he could talk to her about it. It would be unfair to heap something like that on her without being sure of his own feelings. It was just a weird coincidence that Anya had filed for divorce two months ago and it was his first night out since it happened.

     “Truth?” he asked.  
     You nodded. “Even if it hurts.”  
     He let out a huff of air. “I was too scared and ashamed.” He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to you.  
     He spoke as you unfolded the now soft paper.  
     “I picked up the phone so many times. Sometimes I’d just hold the paper, looking at that number. I don’t know why. Missed you, I guess,” he said.  
     You looked at the unfolded paper. It was your phone number that you had given him years ago. The paper was soft from handling and it looked like he had traced over the numbers…  
     “I memorized it,” he said. “Come over here, hold the wheel.”  
     You gave him the “are you shitting me?” look and he put his arm on the back of the seat motioning for you to slide over, completely ignoring your expression.  
     “C’mon, I won’t bite,” he winked. “Grab your phone.” He had a thought, “Do you still have the same number?”  
     You grabbed your clutch and pulled out your phone as you slid over the bench seat. Thankfully, it was dark outside and he couldn’t see how bad you were blushing. You hadn’t changed your number in three years in the hopes that someday he might call.  
     “Yep,” you said simply, getting close to him.  
     “C’mon, closer. I’ll be a gentleman,” he teased.  
     You moved so you were hip to hip. You put your hands on the steering wheel and Jeff leaned into you to get something out of his back-left pocket. Damn, he smells good.  
     “You actually have a cell phone?!” you said surprised.  
     “I know, I’m all fancy and shit. Know how to use it, too” you could hear the grin in his voice. “Watch this shit.”  
     You could hear him push a few buttons and your cellphone started to ring. He transferred the phone to his right hand letting it ring a few times more before ending the call. He put his left hand on the steering wheel right below yours, his thumb stroking the soft skin on the top of your hand. Jeff used the heel of his right hand to pull you back against his chest.  
     You settled back into him. “Nothing can happen between us, Jeff.”  
     “I know, sweetheart,” he said, his right arm coming down around you to keep you close. “Let’s just have tonight. Just you and me in the truck, driving. That’ll do for now.”

     Jeff told you about how he had a few TV shows lined up for the year, but he was more curious about what you planned to do with your life. Luckily, you were quite busy except when the show had been on hiatus. You told Jeff how you’d been working on “The X-Files” for the last three years in Vancouver and were now moving to Philadelphia to start on a new show for cable called “Hack” which would begin filming in just a few short weeks. The plan was for Todd to go with you and you told him how you and Todd thought about getting a place together.  
     “(Y|N), please don’t get a place with that clown,” he said into your hair.  
     “Jeff, stop,” you said.  
     “No, I’m serious, I have a bad feeling about that guy,” he said sincerely.  
      “How’s Anya?” you asked, a little jab back.  
     Jeff let out a low growl. What a loaded question to ask. Jeff knew that (Y|N) wanted to have a life with the idiot, Todd. If he told her that he and Anya were getting divorced, who would that information really be for? All it would do was make her confused and/or angry. If he was going to have (Y|N), he wanted to do things the right way, and, goddamnit, the right way meant letting her come to him on her own.  
     “Okay, fine. I’m sorry,” he said.  
     Somehow, they had made their way to the ocean. Jeff put the truck in park and cracked his window, but you needed to get out to stretch your legs. You didn’t know what time it was, but it had to be late, it felt like you’d been driving forever. Thinking better of walking down on the beach barefoot, you instead opted to just do a little walk in the parking lot Jeff had pulled into.  
     You found the spot that had the best view and you listened to the sound of the waves coming in on the breeze. The night sky was crystal clear this close to the water. The stars were shining bright and the moon lit up the beach. Jeff had caught up to you and noticed you did a little shiver as the breeze off the water found you. Without thinking, he slipped off his suit jacket and put it around your shoulders. 

     Jeff saw her look up at him both questioning and thanking him at the same time. Did that idiot, Todd ever do anything like that for her? The fact that she would even question it told him a lot about the character of Todd. He put his hand on the top of her shoulder and stood with her watching her. Her face was lit by the moonlight, her hair gently lifting with the breeze.   
     “(Y|N)?” he said, making her turn her face to him.  
     She looked up at him and he knew she was feeling it too. He put one hand on her jaw then the other, cupping her face in his hands, his thumbs gently caressing her skin. He tipped his head down slightly to hers and brushed his lips against hers. A surge of electricity jolted through him wherever his skin touched hers. The kiss was tender at first then, when he felt her lean in, he pulled her tightly to his body and deepened the kiss. She let out a little whimper and kissed him back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Reader make plans for the future.

You leaned into him and he held you tightly to his body. He wasn’t going to let you go anywhere. Your tongue danced circles with his, lighting you on fire. You couldn’t make yourself stop, you didn’t want to… you only had tonight. You finally came up for air.  
     He kissed you again, shorter this time but still with toe-curling passion. He rested his forehead on yours while you both caught your breath. Jeff kissed your forehead and had you rest your head on his shoulder, your face tucked into his neck. It felt good to be held, especially by him. You fit into his body perfectly, his coat and body heat keeping you both warm.  
     “What do we do now?” he asked you, his voice husky.  
     “You go back to Anya, I go back to Todd,” you only had tonight…  
     “Do you love him?” he asked.

     You stood there clinging to him as though your life depended on it, his coat on your shoulders, his gift of a star necklace around your neck… you hadn’t felt this good in years… three years, to be exact. You started to giggle and looked up at him. He looked terrified at what you might say. You moved so your hand could rest on his chest while the other smoothed his furrowed brow and come to rest on his cheek.  
     You smiled at him, “How could I love him, when there’s only ever been you?”  
     He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. He let it out in a sudden, “Ha!” He sniffled a little. “I thought maybe I was crazy.”  
     He kissed you again, softly and with love. The breeze blew hard and almost took away the coat draped over your shoulders. Why did things always have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t you just love Jeff and he love you back without any issues?  
     “Maybe we should head back?” you said, not really wanting to go anywhere, needing to make the night last as long as possible. “We can go slowly.”  
     Jeff finally loosened his hold on you and guided you back to his truck. Letting you go was the last thing he wanted to do, not again. The only time he ever cussed their age difference was when he thought about how he’d wished he’d met her sooner.   
     “I’ve got to tell you something, (Y|N),” he said solemnly, opening the door of the truck. He felt you stiffen under his hand. “It’s nothing bad. I just think you need to know.”  
     You looked up at him wondering what it was he could say that would make him have that look on his face. “Just say it,” you told him. Please, don’t say Anya’s pregnant.  
     “A few months ago, Anya filed for divorce,” he said, watching you intently.The wind gusted and sent a shiver down his body. (Y|N) swung her legs in, he closed the door and got in on the other side.  
     What the hell were you going to do? Todd was your boyfriend and you wanted to see where things went with him, but you knew you were in love with Jeff, you finally understood that. Knowing that Jeff would be unattached soon was very appealing. Todd was a decent guy, but he wouldn’t understand that you were breaking up with him because you didn’t love him, not the way he wanted. Nor would he believe that Jeff had nothing to do with it. You and Jeff needed to make a plan.  
     Jeff was still waiting for you to say something. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with something like that. I’m moving across the country in a month. I’m supposed to go with Todd, we were talking about moving in together. You live here in L.A. You aren’t even divorced yet, are you?”  
     He sighed, “No, I’m not.”  
     “What if we get together and Anya tries to use me against you?” you said. You were starting to panic. Reflexively, you grasped the star around your neck. “I won’t have her ruin your life because of me.”  
     (Y|N) needed to know, but this was the reaction he was worried about. He could hear the panic in her voice. He started the truck and backed out. Once they were slowly cruising down the highway, he motioned her to slide over.  
     You slid across the bench seat again and he lifted his arm for you to lean against him. You put your legs toward the passenger side and your back into him so he could have room to shift gears. His arm draped down across your chest. You hugged his arm to you and felt a little better. There was no place you would rather be than with Jeff. If you had to wait for his divorce to be final, you thought that it would be something you could deal with. It couldn’t go on forever.  
     “I don’t think she will do anything. If she does, we’ll just deal with it as it comes. I just need to know that when I call you, you’ll answer,” he said, his voice full of emotion. “I can’t go without hearing your voice, or seeing your pretty face. The last three years…”   
     “IF you actually call, I’ll answer,” you said, patting his arm.  
     He squeezed you and kissed your hair. “You’re so funny,” he said, clearly not amused.  
     “I promise. I have your number now. I won’t go years without talking to you again. And, I expect you to visit me when you’re on the east coast,” you said.  
     “I expect you to do the same,” he said.  
     “I need to let Todd down easy. I have to do it soon, before we move. He might be the one that will cause problems,” you mused.  
     “Why do you think that? I thought he and I were best friends,” Jeff tried to joke.  
     “He likes you about as much as Anya likes me,” you said. “We need to be careful, Jeff. I have to, at the very least, break up with Todd before we can even think about being seen together. You being seen with me could really hurt your career.”   
     “I’m not worried about that…”  
     “Well, you should be. When people see how hot you are AND that you can act, you’re gonna get famous fast and I don’t want anything to ruin that for you, including me,” you told him.  
     “So, what you’re saying is, now that I’ve got you, I can’t have you?” he said.  
     You turned your body so you could kiss him quickly, “Only for a little while, just until I can break it off with Todd.”  
     You knew Jeff wasn’t happy with what you’d said about Todd, but it needed to be handled properly. Three years he’d been at your side. Three years more than you had with Jeff. You were in a terrible position between the two and you hoped Jeff would be able to see that it wouldn’t be easy for you to just dump Todd like he meant nothing to you. You may not be in love with Todd, but there was something to be said for loyalty.  
     You weren’t all that familiar with the layout of L.A., but it took quite a while for Jeff to get you back to your hotel. It was even later than you had expected, the sun was starting to light the sky. You hadn’t even bothered to check your phone for messages until you were almost back at the hotel. Two voicemails from Todd saying he’d be out all night and would sleep at the office. You sighed as you ended the call.  
     “What’s the matter,” Jeff asked.  
     “Todd won’t be back. He might not come back until tonight. He keeps clothes in a bag for late nights,” you explained.  
     Alarm bells were going off in Jeff’s head, but he thought better of voicing his opinion of the Idiot Todd. He’d already told (Y|N) he didn’t like Todd and she was going to break it off with him, so it wouldn’t do much good to say anything.   
     You sat up slowly, reluctant to give Jeff back his arm. The morning had come too quickly and it was you having to leave HIM this time. More than once you thought about just telling him to drive, but that damned sense of responsibility kept hitting you. You needed to break it off with Todd before you could have a relationship with Jeff.   
     You turned in your seat and gave him a slow kiss, his tongue seeking entrance, your lips parted to deepen the kiss. His hands cupped your neck and jaw. You were his and you knew it. When he finally released you, he rested his forehead on yours and kept you close.  
     Sitting up to look at you, he said, “Sweetheart, you call me if you need anything, and I mean anything.”  
     She didn’t say anything more, she just nodded, one last little kiss and she slid across the seat to get out of his truck. He watched his love walk away until he couldn’t see her anymore. At least this time, he knew he would see her again, she was still wearing his jacket.  
     “I’m gonna marry her, someday,” he said starting the engine and pulling away from the hotel.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader comes home from a trip. Reader discovers a secret.

It turned out to be more difficult to break it off with Todd than you thought it would be. You just couldn’t seem to catch him long enough to tell him it was over. He was working hard, and that was great, but it was like he was either at the studio or he was at home sleeping. If you did manage to catch him when he was at home AND awake, he seemed to talk his head off and you couldn’t get a word in. It also didn’t help that you’d needed to go to Philadelphia a few times to get an apartment lined up and to meet with the production staff. You were actually on your third trip to Philadelphia in three weeks, you were finishing up with the apartment lease and you were feeling like crap from the constant jet lag. Sure, you’d learned a long time ago to sleep when you could, but it still messed with you. All you wanted to do was go home, maybe catch a nap on the flight.  
     Since you’d finished early, you managed to find an early flight home. With as early as you’d finished, you knew Todd wouldn’t be able to pick you up at the airport, so you called Jeff. Thankfully, he was available and could meet you at the airport to take you home. You’d only brought a carry-on with you for your trip, so you were able to get out of the terminal and down to the main concourse in no time.  
     Whenever one of you was near the other, you just knew. It was like your spidey-senses tingled and you had to find each other. As soon as you spotted him, Jeff turned around and scanned the area until he saw you stepping onto the escalator. His face broke out into a big smile and he slowly strolled to where the escalator emptied. When you got to the bottom, you took five long strides, flung your bag on the floor and threw your arms around his neck.  
     He held you tightly to him and spoke into your neck, “So did you miss me, sweetheart?”

     “About as much as you missed me,” you said hugging him back just as tight.  
     After a few moments, he let go of you and picked up your bag for you to lead you out to the parking garage.  
     “Thank you so much for coming to get me,” you told him.  
     “Sweetheart, I’d do almost anything for you,” he said walking you toward the exit.  
     “I hate to take advantage,” you began, “but would you take me to Todd’s house? He let me store stuff there and I want to get it out of there.”  
     Jeff smiled at you, “Just tell me where to go.”  
     Forty-five minutes later, Jeff was pulling his truck into Todd’s driveway. The only thing was, there was a car in the drive that neither one of you recognized. You went inside through the garage side-door. Laying your hand on the hood of Todd’s car, you felt that it was cold. The creepy feeling you got was strong and Jeff felt it, too. He grabbed an old Louisville Slugger that was nearby and motioned you to get behind him. You grabbed your pepper spray out of your purse and left the purse on the hood of the car. Grabbing a handful of the back of Jeff’s shirt, you follow him inside and start clearing the house.  
     When you cleared the main floor and were at the bottom of the stairs, you both heard something. Todd was upstairs and he definitely was not alone. Jeff looked over his shoulder at you, his eyebrow cocked in question. You let go of his shirt and he took off up the stairs.  
     Jeff kicked open the door with a loud crash. A flurry of expletives and a scream came from within the room. When you caught up to him, Jeff had a nearly naked Todd in a choke hold, the bat rolling to a rest near your feet. The woman in the bed had the covers pulled up to her nose. Bending down, you picked up the bat while looking at the woman in the bed you often shared with Todd.  
     “Better be on your way, now,” you said pointing the bat at her.  
     She dropped the covers, “I didn’t take anything that didn’t want to be taken!”  
     You knew her. You turned to Todd with a disgusted look on your face. He was trying to get Jeff to loosen his hold on him. If you weren’t so offended by Todd’s choice in woman to cheat on you with, you might have laughed at the sight.  
     “Are you fucking kidding me? Of all the people you could pick, you choose THAT piece of shit?” you say pointing the bat at the most worthless piece of shit PA you have ever run across, Serena.  
     You turn to Todd and get dangerously close to his privates with the end of the bat. “You just made this really easy. We’re done. I’m taking my shit and I’m leaving you. I don’t love you, never did and I don’t ever want to see you again.”  
     “Babe, please, I can explain,” Todd squeaked from under Jeff’s choke hold.  
     You held up the bat to silence him, “No, don’t explain. You made your decision long before today.”  
     “I’ll ruin you, both,” Serena got brave.  
     “I think you’re underestimating me, Serena. I’m not the same person I was three years ago,” you flicked your eyes over to Todd then back to Serena. “I know who you’re married to and I don’t think he’d like to know what you’ve been doing or with whom.” The look on Serena’s face told you she didn’t want her husband to know, either.  
     You thought about the whole situation a moment and realized Todd had been messing around on you for a long time. All of the late nights at the studio, the phone calls, him leaving the X-Files party, it all made sense now.  
“I’m taking what’s mine and I don’t want to hear another word from you,” you told Todd.  
     Jeff gave Todd a shove toward the bed.  
     “You’re a goddamned idiot,” Jeff told him.  
     “It figures she would go running to you, again,” Todd sounded bitter.  
     “I never cheated on you, Todd. In hindsight, I should have,” you pointed the pepper spray at him. You wouldn’t miss at this range. You put your thumb under the trigger guard and before he had time to react, Todd had the front of his briefs soaked with pepper spray. “I hope it falls off.”  
     You and Jeff turned to walk out. You barely made it to the destroyed bedroom door when Todd started to shriek. The pepper spray was working and you were smiling.  
     Jeff put his arm around you when you got down stairs. “Remind me not to piss you off,” he said.  
     “Is that something I have to worry about?” you asked him.  
     “Not if I can help it,” he chuckled. Jeff had the tiniest bit of sympathy for Todd, knowing his genitals were on fire, but he laughed ‘cause the idiot deserved it. “Where’s your stuff, sweetheart?”  
     “I don’t even know. There’s nothing here that I can’t live without,” you said.  
     “Just me,” Jeff said.  
     “Well, you’re not something I kept here. I always take you with me,” you said, touching the star necklace you always wore.  
     Jeff looked at you and saw your 5 mile stare. “You okay, (Y|N)?” he asked.  
     You held the bat in your hand still and the pepper spray in the other. You’d reached the garage and saw Todd’s red Charger. Handing Jeff the pepper spray, you gripped the bat tight and swung. You startled Jeff, but he didn’t stop you either. You made the headlight explode. It was very satisfying. Destroying his car would not change what he did, but you really wanted to continue beating the paint off the car. Jeff let you take one more swing at the windshield before he stopped you.  
     “Sweetheart, you don’t need destruction of property charges on your record,” he said putting his hand on your shoulder, taking the bat out of your hands.  
     “You crazy bitch! What did you do to my car?!” Todd shouted from the door to the garage. He had a pained look on his face and was standing in the door with a robe on, his stance wide.  
     Jeff turned on Todd. “What did you just say?”  
     Todd stared Jeff down from the top of the stairs, somehow not afraid of the larger man carrying the bat. “Crazy. Bitch.”  
     “That’s what I thought you said,” Jeff didn’t hesitate. He crossed the short distance to Todd and popped him square on the jaw, sending Todd reeling backward into the house.  
     Jeff followed him into the house watching as he stumbled and fell down. He stood over him waiting for him to get his bearings, bat still in hand.  
     “You’re done with her, you understand? You don’t talk to her, you don’t talk about her, you don’t even think about her. If I ever find out you’ve been talking about her in any way other than the highest regard, I’ll come back and we’ll finish this conversation, got it?” he said, his voice cold as ice. Jeff swung the bat up onto his shoulder.  
     There was no way Todd could mistake what he’d said, even if he had gotten his bell rung. He nodded, rubbing his jaw. “Got it,” he grumbled.  
     Jeff took a deep breath and went back out to (Y|N) who was waiting for him in the garage. He threw the bat into the corner of the garage. He thought maybe she heard him talking to Todd, but she didn’t say a word about it if she had. She just smiled and went ahead of him to get in the truck.  
     “Where to now, sweetheart?” he asked.  
     “Take me home?” she said. She’d been putting on a brave face, but it was starting to crumble. He supposed that even though Todd was an idiot and a total shit, breaking up with someone you’d been that close with wasn’t easy.  
     He started the truck and shifted gears. When he was out of the subdivision and cruising, he put his arm on the back of the seat and looked over at (Y|N). She didn’t need an invitation, she just slid over the seat and tucked into his side. He put his arm down around her and she held his arm to her. She sighed heavily and he could feel her start to sob.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Reader in Philadelphia

It was a bit of a relief to finally be rid of Todd. It was an odd string of emotions to go through. I was happy to be rid of him but I was also mad that he had the balls to cheat on me, and God, why did it have to be that skank, Serena? Ugh. It just wasn’t easy to stop caring about someone, even if he was a colossal douche.   
     Thankfully, I was able to go to Philadelphia almost immediately after the incident with Todd. I was so ready for it. It was a bit of a relief to be on my own. I could get my head straight without interference from Todd or Jeff. With a whole country between us, it was much easier to sort it all out.  
     Turns out, I was pretty okay with not being around Todd. I was mostly mad that I hadn’t caught him sooner. As far as Todd went, I was sad about losing someone I thought was my friend, but he wasn’t the person I wanted to talk to…about anything. Reconciling my feelings for Todd, I realized that he wasn’t really even a friend. I was never as important to him as he was to me. He certainly didn’t treat me very well. There were many things he’d done that I’d missed that should have been a big red flag, but I’d ignored it. Hindsight is 20/20.  
     Jeff was the one I needed. He was the one I wanted to talk to. When I got home from work, he was the one that I wanted to be there, the one I wanted to call when he wasn’t home… Before I left for Philly, I’d told him I needed a little time, not a lot, just to get my head straight and I told him I would call him when I knew. He would text me and send me funny emails. He was so patient. I lasted two whole weeks before I called him.  
     It rang twice before he answered. “I was beginning to worry you’d lost interest in me.”  
     “You have the patience of a saint,” I said.  
     I could hear the smile in his voice. “Some people are worth waiting for,” he said.  
     Charmer. “When can you come visit?”  
     It took six weeks. Six long weeks before your schedule and Jeff’s schedule matched up long enough to make a “weekend” of it. Working on a cable show was different than working on “The X-Files.” There was more content per episode and the shooting schedule was nearly 10 days. Shooting often ran a bit late on the last day and that was the day that Jeff was getting in to Philadelphia.  
     You thought it might be nice for him to make himself at home while you were out, so you’d told Jeff the key code to your apartment. Naturally, despite your best efforts, shooting had run over. You pulled out your phone to call him to finally say you were on your way home, but you saw that there was a message from Jeff.  
     He’d left a voicemail in that low, sultry voice of his and you cussed the shooting day once again.  
     “Hey sweetheart, I’m making dinner, bring home something to drink.” There was a pause. “How do you not have any booze?”  
     You smiled. He hadn’t snooped too much. He hadn’t found your secret stash yet. You climbed into your POS Blazer and made your way home to your apartment. At your front door, you caught the smell of food coming from inside. He might be perfect.  
     Keying in, you found out how right you were. There were no lights on inside, only candles. Where did all the candles come from? What he was making smelled like some sort of pasta. Your small table had a tablecloth covering it a candelabra was in the middle holding three more candles. There was a flower arrangement on the bar separating the kitchen from the dining area. He had music playing over your stereo, your ears were straining to hear it over the blood pounding through your body. My God how I love him. It’s Glenn Miller, he’s playing Glenn Miller…  
     You looked around your small apartment wondering where it was he could be hiding. The breeze rustled the curtain in front of your deck door. That deck was the only reason you’d taken the apartment, it was big and it had the best view. You dropped your bag by the door and kicked off your shoes and went straight to the deck door to find Jeff lounging with a glass of your no-longer-hidden bottle of whisky.  
     “Hey there, handsome,” you said from the door way.  
     He was wearing some cargo shorts and a t-shirt, his feet bare. He turned to you and pulled you into one of his amazing embraces. Everything was just better when you were with him. He kissed you so tenderly it made you wonder if he was okay.  
     Releasing you, he said, “I hope you don’t mind. I found your whisky.” He smiled that sultry smile of his, “God you’re beautiful.”  
     “Geez, how many have you had?” you joked. You felt gross from working and running around set all day and not the least bit beautiful.  
     The sun was almost down and the orange/red glow was just stunning. He pulled you over to the railing and tucked you into his side. You took the glass out of his hand and took two drinks. After handing it back to him, you held onto his body and watched the sun go down.  
     “I get it now,” he said softly.   
     You looked up at his handsome face, waiting for him to continue.  
     He raised the hand that was holding the glass, one finger pointing at nothing in particular. “This music. You can’t be in a bad mood to listen to it.”  
     You smiled and nodded. Your own mood had considerably lightened since you’d gotten home.   
     “Everything okay? Did something happen?” you asked.  
     He sighed. “I don’t want to talk about her. I want to have a nice weekend with you.”  
     You let it go at that, but during your shower, you wondered what it was Anya had done that had put Jeff in a bad mood. 

     Jeff needed this weekend with (Y|N), it had been too long. Not just too long since he’d seen her last, but also because he’d been lonely without her. He’d been separated, disconnected, from Anya for longer than he’d told (Y|N). It had also been tough for him to have no real connection with (Y|N) since running into her at the Fox party. He hoped that spending this weekend would reestablish that connection with her. He talked to her every day, but he still missed her.  
     She really did look beautiful. That was one of the things he loved about her. She just was. Her long legs, her pretty (Y|H|C) hair, the way her (Y|E|C) sparkled when she laughed, and she had no idea. She never believed it when he told her, either.   
     He went into her tiny kitchen and pulled out the lasagna from the oven. He’d suspected she would be late getting home so he hadn’t started it right away. It was just about perfect when he pulled it out of the oven. He put the garlic bread in to warm and set the lasagna up to cool before serving.  
     She came out of the shower what only seemed like moments later. What he hadn’t expected was what she would be wearing when she came out.

     “Jeff?” you said, getting his attention. He was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, staring absently out into the living room. He turned his head to look at you and you smiled as you got the reaction you were hoping for. Your hair was twisted up into a towel and you were wearing nothing more than a towel wrapped around your body. You watched his face go from whatever it was that was bothering him to pure lust.   
     “Can we have dinner later? I’m kind of hungry for something else right now,” you said. “Turn off the oven.”  
     From across the room, you could see his eyes change to that smoky sultriness that you loved. Seeing his eyes change like that now told you how much he’d wanted you in the past and had never acted on it. You knew he wanted you, too.  
     Turning away, you tipped your head back and let the towel around your hair fall away. You looked back over your shoulder to see if he was still watching you and you weren’t disappointed. Tilting your head down, but not away, you let the towel around your body fall away, a hint of a smile touched your lips as you saw him move to turn off the oven and follow you into your bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: If I could write smut, I would write the smuttiest smut to ever smut in fanfics right here)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Jeff have dinner

If you hadn’t been starving, you would have fallen asleep with Jeff wrapped around your body. He had, definitely, been worth the wait. You found his t-shirt barely hanging onto the edge of the bed and slipped it on. The fabric was soft on your skin and it smelled like Jeff, manly musk, a little smoky and cologne. You stood up, thinking you would slip out and start getting the food ready again.  
     “That is so damn hot,” you heard him say from your bed.

     You turn to look at him. It was still dark, but the glow from all of the candles was able to reach inside the room.  
     “Oh, my God, I thought you were sleeping,” you said with you hand on your chest. “I’m starving. I’m gonna get the food ready. Are you going to eat or sleep?”  
     He rolled out of bed and stood up. Sweet jesus, he’s beautiful, goddamn… He grabbed his cargo shorts and slipped them back on.  
     “I’m not taking my eyes off you all weekend,” he said.  
     You ran your hands down the length of the t-shirt, making sure it at least covered your ass. Jeff was a tall guy, but you were also a tall lady. It fell to just the right length to cover. You stood watching each other, practically daring the other to go back to bed. Your hunger, hunger for food, took over.   
     You grunted, it coming out as a “mmmrrff,” and turned to go back out to the kitchen. The candles were still going and so was the music. The food still smelled good from when it was warm before. In the kitchen, you turned the oven back on and slipped both the bread and lasagna back inside and closed the door, quickly setting a timer so it didn’t burn or dry out. Jeff had grabbed the whisky from the deck. He set the bottle on the counter, a smug smirk on his face.  
     “What’s that look for?” you ask. Grabbing a “Friends” mug from your cupboard. Jeff poured some whisky into your mug and refreshed his own.  
     “You’re so damn sexy,” he said grinning.  
     “Stop it, you’re sex drunk,” you said taking a gulp of your whisky.  
     His expression didn’t change. “No, I’m not. I know sexy when I see it, and I’m looking right at sexy as all hell.”  
     You could feel your cheeks get hot. He always had a way of making you blush. You watched him as he moved around the corner to stand in front of you. He put his glass on the counter next to you and took your mug from your hand and moved it away near his. His big hands cupped your face making you look up at him.   
     “Yes. You are. I will tell you every day, ten…no, a hundred times a day if I need to until you believe it,” he said, tipping his head down to kiss you. His lips were soft on yours. He pulled you into his body, keeping you close. His tongue grazed your lip, asking for entry. Parting your lips, you deepened the kiss with him. He made the butterflies stir in your belly, the heat rushing between your legs. He only let go of you when he’d taken your breath away. Resting his forehead on yours, still holding your face in his hand, “I don’t want anyone else but you.”  
     “You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl,” you said catching your breath.  
The timer she’d set earlier sounded and he watched her move as she pulled the dish and bread out of the oven. His shirt wasn’t quite long enough to cover what she wanted covered, but he didn’t mind the view at all.  
     “Where’d you get this lasagna?” she asked.  
     “I’ll have you know I made that myself,” he said proudly.  
     She held the dish looking at it then to him, then back at the dish, “But did you make the noodles?”  
     “Are you always going to bust my balls?” he tried to sound hurt.  
     

     There it is. There’s that smile.  
     He’d found the plates before when he’d looked through her apartment. She dished up some lasagna onto each plate. Normally, he would have helped her with something, but he’d been distracted by watching her move. As he leaned on the counter, he realized he was probably smiling like a dope, but it didn’t matter. She made him happy. He hadn’t been happy in a long time, not since he’d worked with her on that terrible movie.  
     He sat next to her at her small table. He could barely take his eyes off of her to eat. It was like no time had passed between them. They fell back into their easy ways with each other. He didn’t feel like he was struggling to talk to her, the conversation flowed like it always had. She told him how she loved working on her new show, he told her about what he had lined up. She told him how, when she would be in hiatus from “Hack,” she had a job set up in Burbank to work on something called “Gilmore Girls.” She said she hadn’t seen it, but everyone had been talking about how good of a show it was.   
     You’d both finished your meal but you still sat talking, laughing and drinking damn fine whisky. You’d moved back out onto the deck with you sitting on his lap. The candles were burning down low and you were feeling better than you had in a long time, maybe ever. Knowing you were rid of Todd, loving your job, and having the best man you’d ever known by your side had you riding high on life.

     “You could stay with me. It’d be perfect,” he said.  
     “What?” unsure of what he meant.  
     “When you’re working on ‘Gilmore Girls,’ you could stay with me,” he answered.  
     You seriously considered his offer. It would have been so much more convenient. You could live with Jeff for four or five months then go back to Philly. It would be like being a real couple. But there was a problem, Anya. He was still married and Hollywood was still very fickle about what celebrities did and with whom.   
     “Jeff, what’s going on that had you so on edge earlier?” you asked.  
     He sighed heavily. He didn’t want to talk about it. “Anya is dragging her feet. I don’t know why. We could have been done with this by now. I just wish I knew why she was dragging it out.”  
     You put your arms around his shoulders, “Do you think she knows about us?”  
     He sat a moment thinking about it, his head resting on your shoulder, and whether or not that could be the reason she was dragging her feet. Had Todd opened his mouth? Had he let something slip? Why on Earth would Anya even care? She was the one who decided to end it, after all, and Jeff had been glad of it, too.  
     “Oh shit,” he said. “What if she doesn’t really want the divorce? Oh God. She’s been calling me a lot more lately. I… I just thought she wanted to talk about the divorce.”  
     “Have you been talking to her or calling her back to see what she wants?” you weren’t mad, exactly, you’d just hoped this particular shit-storm would have been dying down by now, not building up. “Jeff, I’m not one to talk about stalling, but you gotta see what is going on with her. You aren’t having doubts… are you?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Jeff have breakfast and talk about California and Bisou

“Hell no!” Jeff answered quickly. “I have zero doubts about you and me.”  
     “Okay, then can you see what she wants so you can get out from under it? I think she might only get worse if you ignore her,” she said.  
     The very last thing he’d wanted to talk about his first night with (Y|N) was Anya, anything but her. “I’ll call her when I go back home. I don’t want anything to ruin our weekend together. When do you need to go back to work?”  
     You took a sip of your whisky, “Tuesday morning. It’s never a long enough break.”  
     He put his hand on the back of your neck and pulled you down for a kiss, “Then we’d better make the most of it, huh?”  
     Saturday, Sunday and Monday with the man of your dreams sounded better than anything you could ever imagine for yourself. Jeff was the physical embodiment of tall, dark and handsome and you were sitting on his lap, with only his shorts between you and him. The t-shirt you were wearing was his and it barely covered anything. Your arm was around his shoulders and you looked into his sexy brown eyes. You knew you were smiling like a fool, but it didn’t matter, he was looking at you the same way. You ran your hand through his hair, he made what you took as a contented sound, and told him, “I love you so much.”  
     His handsome face broke out into the biggest grin, “(Y|N), I love you, too.”  
     You kissed him again, slow and sweet. Smiling at him as you got up off his lap. Jeff gave you a look like you took away his favorite toy. Running your hand across his chest and up across his cheek, you tell him, “Come to bed, my love.”  
     When you woke the next day, Jeff wasn’t lying in bed next to you. You had a slight panic until you smelled bacon and pancakes. He was making breakfast. You felt so lucky. The night before, you’d told Jeff you loved him, the actual words, and he returned them. You’d had a hunger for one another that only ended in exhaustion. At some point in the early morning hours, you’d managed to get into some underwear and a nightshirt…and kept them on. Now, you had a different kind of hunger and he was making you breakfast, your favorite at that. You swung your feet out of bed and your sore legs gave you a pleasant reminder of the night before.  
     Jeff didn’t see her until she was almost in the kitchen. He saw her stagger a little and he smiled to himself. Her hair was a mess, and she was pink from sleep, but she had a smile on her face that he assumed was because of him.   
     He would have stayed in bed with her all day, but when he woke up it was already almost lunch time. He let (Y|N) sleep and had gone out to make breakfast for them both. He liked her tiny apartment. She didn’t have much in it, but it was set up nice and the view from the deck was amazing.   
     “I like your place,” he told her. “It’s comfortable.”  
     Her furniture was sparse, but it looked like it belonged in a cabin, very plush and warm. It only had the necessities, but that was part of the charm. He knew she didn’t get to spend much time in it and figured she wanted to keep it as comfortable and easy as possible.   
     She smiled at him, “Thanks, you like my dinnerware?”  
     He chuckled. When he opened the cupboards the night before, he’d laughed at her mishmash of plates and glasses. She had some Cabbage Patch Kids plates mixed in with plain white plates as well as Alvin and the Chipmunks glasses and Care Bears glasses that had a Pizza Hut logo on them.  
     “Yeah, they’re fun,” he said. “Were they from when you were a kid?”  
     She smiled remembering, but it wasn’t a bright smile. “Well, sorta. The Care Bears were mine when I was a kid. The Cabbage Patch and Alvin stuff, that I got after my grandpa died. He collected everything. He sold antiques out of his massive garage, which was full to the rafters with things and cars. My grandparents had a huge house. They only lived on the main floor. The upper floor was apartments, but by the time I came around, they were not used anymore. Grandpa filled them all up with his “junk” as my grandma called it. He actually bought a huge building to put the overflow in, which he filled quickly. The Care Bear glasses were mine from when I was little.”  
     He got the feeling that she didn’t talk about her family because she’d been through a lot with them. He just quietly listened to her, appreciating the fact that she was comfortable enough to share that memory with him.   
     He stood there listening to you blather on about your grandparents. You didn’t like talking about your family because they all died miserable deaths. Talking about them was a reminder of how they had died. Sometimes, sometimes it was okay to talk about them and you didn’t cry immediately. The memories of them dying didn’t always come flooding back.  
     “Wish I coulda met them,” he smiled. He dished up a plate of pancakes and bacon for you.   
     You went around the counter to get the plate from Jeff. Instead he pulled you into his body and held you for a moment, his hand rubbing your back. Your face fit into the perfect spot in his neck. His heartbeat tapping a steady beat on your forehead. He smelled warm and like soap. You wrapped your arms around his strong body loving how he felt pressed against you.  
     You wondered if when “Hack” was on hiatus that you could actually live with Jeff. He’d offered to have you stay with him the night before. If living with him was anything like what it had been in the last 12 hours, you were pretty sure it would work. You already knew that he was probably the best friend you’d ever had. You’d told him so much more about yourself than even Todd, and you’d been with him, in one way or another, for three years. Not only was he your good friend, but everything was so easy with him. It was like you just understood what the other needed. When you were talking, there was little to no explaining what was mean, you just knew. He was the only person that you were this comfortable with.  
     You snuggled into him a little more, “Jeff?”  
     “Hmm,” you felt the rumble in his throat and chest.  
     “Can I stay with you when I’m in California?” you ask.  
     “Sweetheart, I would love that,” he said moving you so he could look at you. “Then you can meet my girl, Bisou.”

     I had three more months working on “Hack” before I could close up my apartment. “Hack” had been renewed for another season and that meant that I would be back in Philly in five months. The only thing I needed from my apartment was my clothes and even then, I only had two large suitcases that I needed to take to California with me.   
     In the three months that it took to finish up season one of “Hack” I’d still entertained the idea of possibly finding an apartment or someplace else to stay while in California, but it never worked out for me to get back there. Jeff came back one more time and went to the wrap party with me where I introduced him to my boss, Bob Singer. Thankfully, the two men hit it off. Bob was like another father to me and I really wanted him to like Jeff.  
     When I got inside LAX and had my phone back on, I had a message from Jeff.  
     “Sweetheart, I’m running behind but I’m on my way. I didn’t have time to drop off Bisou before coming to get you, so you get to meet her right away. Anyway, be there soon.”

     You grabbed your suitcases and took your time wheeling them outside to the pickup zone. It was a beautiful day in LA, not too hot, not too much smog. You were just about to stack your suitcases to sit on them when you heard the familiar rumble of Jeff’s truck. He beeped the horn as he pulled up to the curb and jumped out to help you toss the cases in the bed of the truck.  
     “I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said. “Things got crazy and this is the quickest I could get here. Bisou is in the front, I hope you don’t mind.”  
     You shook your head that you didn’t mind and he gave you a quick hug and kiss before opening your door for you. Bisou sat up immediately looking you over. You were indifferent to dogs, but dogs always seemed to love you. Even the ones that had a bad disposition seemed to like you. You slipped into the seat just as security was coming over to tell you and Jeff to move on. Jeff waved at them and closed the door, trotting over to his side and getting in.  
     Bisou was still looking at you. You held up the back of your hand to her to smell.   
     “Hey darlin’,” you said to her. “Can we share?”  
     She sniffed your hand and leaned against Jeff, seemingly unsure of this new person in her truck.  
     “She takes a while to warm up to people that aren’t me,” he said.  
     “Don’t worry about it. Dogs either love me or they don’t,” you told him. “My mom’s dog was a rotten little thing that never listened. He always barked at me when he wanted something. Little shit was annoyingly smart though. I ignored him and he just tried harder to get me to like him. It was funny cuz I would go over to her house and he would come sit by me like I was his favorite or something.”  
     Jeff smiled at your story and said, “Well, I hope you’re not offended if she doesn’t like you. She growls at Anya. Always has.”  
     “Speaking of the ice princess, how’s that going?” you asked.

     Jeff had kept you informed of what was going on with his divorce, or lack thereof. He’d called her when he got back home after their first visit to see what she wanted. She had tried to lay a big guilt trip on him about how he was away all the time and women were constantly hitting on him and it had bothered her. It didn’t matter to her that Jeff had never acted on those advances, but there had been no denying the fact that she had seen both him and (Y|N) at his movie wrap party. Anyone could have seen how they were together, the sparks flew like crazy between the two of them. She’d been jealous and couldn’t let it go, essentially pushing Jeff away even further so that he didn’t even want to try to be nice anymore. 

     “I saw how you were with her,” she accused. “You can’t tell me nothing happened!”  
     “Anya, I swear, nothing happened, we just became really good friends. I probably spent the most time with her on set because she practically ran the shoot behind the scenes,” he’d tried to assuage her.  
     “Bullshit, you were looking at her like she was your favorite candy,” she hissed.  
     “Maybe I was! Maybe I wished you’d been there in the first place. Maybe I wanted someone to look at me the way she does. Do you know you never once made me feel the way she does? I actually LIKE her more than you. She’s been a better friend to me than people I have known all my life. And ya know what? I fell in love with my best friend. I didn’t know it at the time, but I sure as shit do now. I don’t want anything to do with you, Anya. Quit stalling this divorce, put us both out of this misery,” he barked at her.

 

     After that confrontation things had been better, but still somewhat contentious. She’d come to his house to get somethings out and needed to get another shot in.

     “What’s she going to do when that dog of yours doesn’t like her?” she asked.  
     “I don’t know. We’ll deal with it. It’s none of your business. Just because Bisou doesn’t like you, it doesn’t mean she won’t like (Y|N),” he said. He’d wanted to put his own jab in and say that almost none of his good friends had liked Anya, but he’d let it go.  
     Anya laughed, ire in her tone, “Boy, everybody just LOVES (Y|N). Maybe I should come by sometime and tell her about all of the shit I’ve had to go through with you. Maybe then she’ll see what a piece of work you really are.”  
     “Would you please just get your shit and get the fuck out of my house?” he’d countered.  
     He’d debated with himself about whether or not he should tell (Y|N) about everything Anya had said, but he’d decided against it. (Y|N) already knew about how crazy Anya could be. He’d been nice when he told (Y|N) about Anya, glossing over some of the angrier outbursts, but he felt that she understood there was more he’d not said.  
     On the drive back to his house, he kept stealing looks at her. Three months was too long. He didn’t want to be away from her anymore. He wanted her all to himself, but he was grateful that she was going to be working in Burbank and would be able to come home every night. Philadelphia was just so far away.   
Bisou was laying down now. She’d done a little spin on the seat and had leaned into (Y|N) with her head near (Y|N)’s knee and (Y|N) was absently stroking her fur. Bisou had dozed off.  
     “I guess she does like you,” he said. He put stock in how people treated animals and how animals responded to people. It only took a matter of minutes for Bisou to warm to (Y|N) and (Y|N) was fine with his big Rottweiler mix dog laying on her.  
     “Dogs either love me or they don’t,” you repeated. “Maybe she knows how much I love you and she’s okay with me because of it.”  
     “I’m gonna marry her someday,” he thought and not for the first time.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Motorcycles, 1st day on Gilmore Girls, old friend, and an unexpected visitor

You pulled up to a modest, but nice house. Jeff parked his truck inside the garage. When the garage door had rolled open, you could see one side was the space for his toys like his motorcycle and the other side was for his truck. He told you not to worry about your bags that he’d get them for you later, and to hop out now because he wanted to show you around.  
     You pulled the lever on the truck door and slid out. You were about to close the door, but Bisou was following you.  
     “Hey darlin’, you comin’ with me?” you said and watched as the big dog jumped down after you. She walked with you as Jeff led you inside his house to show you around.  
     When you stepped inside, you were completely unsurprised by the decorations. It was Jeff. The furniture was large and overstuffed, dark colors, plush, comfortable and perfectly suited to him. Everywhere you looked, you saw places you wanted to curl up and read a book or do nothing at all. The rest of his place had a sort of urban cabin feel to it. It was hard to explain, but whatever this style was, it was Jeff. You stopped in a spot that was somewhat in the center of the house, a space that looked into the living room, dining room and kitchen all at once, did a slow spin taking it all in. You felt like you were surrounded by him and you immediately felt like you were home.  
     “Whadya think, sweetheart? Think you can tolerate it?” he asked.  
     “I think you’re gonna have to kick me out to go back to Philly,” you said still in awe. “I love it.”

     You’d barely gotten to his place and he was already wanting to take you places and do fun things with you before you had to go to work in a few days. He made sure he took you to his favorite motorcycle shop first to get a helmet. Jeff knows everyone and has to talk to them so, while the floor people were getting you set up with a helmet and some boots and a jacket you liked, Jeff was schmoozing the store owner to let him borrow a bike to take you out for a little spin. The owner pulled out a 2003 Harley Fatboy for you and Jeff to take a ride. You put on your new helmet and Jeff took you for a short ride.

Originally posted by gentlemensherald

     Since Jeff is a brave kind of guy, he decided that you needed to learn how to ride a bike.  
     “Babe, I already know how to ride a bike,” you told him.  
     He snickered, “Not a pedal bike. Motorcycle.”  
     “Are you fucking nuts? I can’t do that!” you told him.  
     “You can drive a manual transmission in a car, you can do a motorcycle. It’s easy,” he said, not taking no for an answer.   
     It didn’t take much convincing for you to let him teach you, especially when, the next day, a truck from the bike shop you’d been to showed up at his house with the Fatboy you’d ridden.  
     “I take it back, you’re insane,” you told him grinning.  
     He grinned back at you with that gorgeous smile of his, “Tell me you don’t like it.”  
     “Nope, can’t do that,” you answered quickly, unsure if he meant the insane part or the motorcycle part. It didn’t matter, him buying something that made him that happy and you got to reap the sexy biker vibe benefits, couldn’t be all bad. And the man looked hot as hell on a motorcycle.  
     Bisou sat by your feet leaning on your leg. You sat down on the grass with your arm over her watching your sexy boyfriend help the guys from the shop unload his new bike.  
     When it was unloaded and the truck was pulling away, he came up to you and said, “You ready to go?”  
     “Now?!”  
     “Fuck yeah, now. Let’s roll!” he said excited. He held out his hands to you to help you up off the grass. You brushed off your backside and went to go inside.  
     Smack! Suddenly your ass cheek stung. You threw a look back over your shoulder.  
     “Missed a spot,” he winked then grinned at you again. “Bisou, inside.”  
     Bisou came bounding after you and followed you into the house. You quickly grabbed your helmet out of the front closet and locked Bisou inside. Jeff was chomping at the bit to go. He’d started the bike and was already getting his helmet on and tight. You were doing the same standing beside him. He revved the engine sending vibrations rumbling through your body.  
     “C’mon, sweetheart, swing that sexy leg over,” he said over the engine.  
     You barely had your feet on the pegs and Jeff had you clinging to his back as you hurtled down the street. You were pretty sure you felt him chuckling. You understood why he loved it so much and why he wanted to include you. It was so peaceful being out there like that, just you and your thoughts. It was so freeing and thrilling, too. He wanted you to like it as much as him and since he knew how you liked to be out in the open and away from people, being on a bike was the perfect solution.  
     Only a little while later, Jeff pulled back into the driveway and explained that new engines needed to be broken in by doing short mileage, low speed runs.  
You got off the bike and took off your helmet, tucking it under your arm. He was still sitting on the bike, taking off his helmet, his hair all messy and his sunglasses…   
     “Okay, you can teach me,” you told him.  
     “Fuckin’ A,” he said, clearly happy.  
     Jeff had an old Norton in his garage that he said you could learn on and use while you were in California. The first week of work, the studio was going to be sending a car for you and Jeff would teach you when you got home and had days off.  
MONDAY MORNING 0430  
     You groaned and kicked your feet out of bed, suddenly questioning your career choices. The last few days with Jeff had been incredible, but he was wearing you out! You got up and got ready as quickly as you could. You never thought you were spoiled working on “Hack” but your apartment in Philly was only a five-minute drive from the studio. Jeff’s house to the studio in Burbank could take a half hour in the morning, you weren’t sure how long the night drive would take.  
     When you were about ready to go, you went back into the bedroom to kiss Jeff goodbye.  
     “I love you, see you later,” you kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll call you when I’m on the way home.”  
     “Okay,” you heard him say. “Kick ass, babe.”  
     The driver knocked on the door at 0515 to pick you up.

     Since you were the new person on set, you got the grunt duty. You were put in charge of making sure the talent was where they were supposed to be, when they were supposed to be there. Which was fine, you were used to that sort of work. Most people were really good about it. Some went diva on you, but they knew you were just doing your job, too. On this set, you were charged with wrangling an enormous man-child puppy.   
     “Jared, seriously, stop, you need to be on set 5 minutes ago,” you begged.  
     “(Y|N), seriously, they can wait, I need to do this,” he said finishing a level on the game he was playing.  
     “Holy shit. You’re gonna get me fired, and I’ve never been fired before,” you said stepping into his trailer. “Gimme that,” you said taking the controller from him.  
     “Hey,” he was about to protest, but he saw you were completing the level. “Woah, how’d you…”  
     Level Complete showed on the screen.   
     “Can we go now?” you asked.  
     “But… how’d you…” you were pulling him to the door, but he still couldn’t figure out how you beat the level.  
     “Jared, you’re a smart guy, you woulda got it…eventually,” you teased. “Please, help me not get fired.”  
     “Sure, as long as you show me how you did that,” he said walking with you.  
     “Okay, buddy, will do,” you said taking him to set.  
     When you got your break for lunch, you went to the catering tent and asked for your favorite sandwich with your particular extras that made it stand out. Whenever you placed that order, people always gave you the weirdest looks.  
     They did numbers at this production, so when they called your number and picked up your container, you noticed there was writing on the top. It said, “Small town, (Y|N).”  
     “What the?” you knew that handwriting, “Jules?! Is that you!?”  
     The old man emerged from the back wearing a beautiful powder blue pantsuit and white vinyl shoes. Some things never change and that includes Julius’ fashion. Julius was the caterer on the very first job in “Hollywood” that you had. When the job wrapped, you remembered thinking that you would never see him again, but he’d told you it was a small town. Seeing him again brought back fond memories of him and the last time you saw him.   
     “That boy is sweet on you…” he’d said.  
     “Julius!” you said, genuinely pleased to see him.  
     “I knew it had to be you. No one else would order that sandwich,” he said. “Stuck it out, huh, kid?”  
     “Yes sir, doing work here as a side job,” you told him.  
     “You and that boy doin’ good?” he asked. “Don’t look at me like that. You two weren’t good at hiding your feelings. He divorced yet?”  
     You were completely taken aback by him, as usual. “Um, not yet. The wife is being difficult.”  
     “Hmm,” he murmured. “You take care now. Don’t blame me when that sandwich kills you.”  
     You took your sandwich and found a spot near the trash bins, but not too close, to eat your sandwich. Your new shadow, Jared, spied you and swooped in to eat with you.  
     “You saving that for later?” you asked indicating his three food containers.  
     “What? No, one is a salad, one is appetizers, one has chicken and fish in it,” he said.  
     “Does that mean you’re going to eat it all now?” you asked him.  
     “Yeah, I’m hungry and they have really good food,” he explained.  
     “I hope you don’t have any kissing scenes today,” you mused looking at the heaps of food he swore he would eat in one sitting.  
     He chuckled, “HAAA, no, I don’t think so.” He paused, “So tell me how you beat that level.”

     It was after 7PM and you were dead tired. Your driver was guiding you to his car. You were functioning on muscle memory at this point. He opened the door for you and held it so you could slip into the back seat. You thought that a nap on the way home sounded like a damn fine idea.   
     You swung your feet in and didn’t realize anything was off until the door closed and you heard the power locks activate.  
     “You like fucking my husband?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of the happenings in California

Even if the car hadn’t been blasting the A/C, you would still have felt the chill from the other side of the car. Of all the days she could show up, why this one? How did she even know? How did she get on the lot? If you hadn’t been so crabby from being awake since 0430 and it was now quickly approaching 1930, and you hadn’t even left the lot yet, you might have been intimidated by Anya Longwell. 

     You slowly turned your head to look at her, hoping your face adequately displayed your annoyance. She was wearing large, dark sunglasses inside a fully tinted car. She was wearing a white tank top and green linen pants. She had the look of an actress from the 40s. Her tanned skin being shown off by fine gold jewelry and sandals on her feet.  
     What to do? Sweet or Salty?  
     “Yes, I do, the man is insatiable. I’ve barely slept in the last four days,” you answered her question. “Get the fuck out of my car.”  
Tapping on the window.  
     “Ms. (Y|L|N)? I think you locked me out,” Patrick, your driver, said.  
     “No, Patrick, I didn’t. I’m not alone, please get security!” you called to him.  
Your turned your attention to Anya, “You’ve got 5-10 minutes to say what you need to say before security gets here.”  
     “You need to stay away from my husband. You’re the reason this all started. He still loves me!” she ended on a shrill note. You couldn’t tell who she was trying to convince.  
     “Jesus, lord, help me,” you muttered rubbing your forehead. You had zero time for this shit. “Jeff didn’t cheat on you, not with me. When I met him, he seemed pretty lonely and he and I became friends and that was as far as it went. Nothing started because of me.”  
     “But you loved him back then, didn’t you? I know I’m not wrong about that,” she countered.  
     You sighed, “Yes, I did, but I never acted on it. I wasn’t even sure what I felt was love,” you told her.  
     She started sobbing, “Oh God, I’ve lost him.”  
     “You lost him a long time ago. That doesn’t mean what you had wasn’t real. It doesn’t mean you can’t find love again, it just won’t be with Jeff,” you told her in such a way as to indicate it wasn’t up for discussion.  
     Anya took a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes. “I see why he likes you. You’re tough when you need to be and nice when you don’t have to be,” she sniffled.  
     “This isn’t going to be a thing, is it? Am I going to be looking over my shoulder forever?” you asked her.  
     She scoffed, “No. I’m embarrassed. I’m too old to be acting like a middle school brat.” She reached for the unlock button. “I was grasping at straws that weren’t there. I won’t bother either of you again. I…” she paused taking off her sunglasses. Her eyes were red and puffy like she’d been crying a lot before your meeting. “I hope you can forgive me.” Anya didn’t wait for an answer, she practically sprung out of the car.  
     You got out on your side and saw her walking quickly away from the car and the guards that were approaching with Patrick. You rested your arms on the top of the car watching as Anya walked away. Patrick looked frantic.  
     “(Y|N) are you okay?!”  
     “I’m good,” you waved, nonchalant, but your heart was pounding in your chest.  
     One of the guards came over to you and the other went to catch up to Anya.  
     “Are you okay?” officer Mathis asked.  
     “Yes, I’m fine, we both are. She just scared me. I wasn’t expecting to see her,” you told him.  
     “Do you want to press any charges?” he asked you.  
     “No, but could you make sure she gets home okay? She’s had a rough day,” you said. “Call her a cab or something?”

     Security needed you for another ten minutes before they had the information the needed for their report and let you and Patrick go on your way. Once you were off the lot, Patrick looked at you in his rear-view mirror.  
     “I am so sorry, (Y|N),” Patrick said. “I only left the car to get you.”  
     “It’s okay, Patrick,” you said. “She didn’t mean any harm. She knows she screwed up. And I’ll survive a hot car for a few minutes if you lock it from now on.”  
     “Are you always this nice?” he asked, expecting an ass-chewing.  
     “Nah, sometimes I’m cute,” you smirked. “I can rip you a new one if you want, Patrick, but I really just want to go home. Would you put the divider thingy up?”  
     The hum of the electric motor on the divider began almost immediately. You pulled out your phone from your bag. The green light was blinking. You pushed the button to light up the display. Two missed calls from Jeff.  
     You flipped open your phone and held down the #2 button. “Calling Jeff” You sighed and closed your eyes as the phone rang.  
     “Hey, sweetheart,” he answered.  
     You felt a knot in your shoulder relax. Your hand absently went to the star that hung around your neck.  
     “Hello m’love,” you said like a hum. “On my way.”  
     “Sweet. So, tell me, how was your first day?” he asked.  
     You glossed over the small details, but you filled him in on Jared and his antics. He was happy to hear about Julius and asked if he was still stuck in the 70s. You told him he was and that his pantsuit today was spectacular. Jeff told you to give him his best when you saw him again. Then you got down to it. You told him about Anya.  
     “You’re too nice. You shoulda kicked her ass,” he said, the fury evident in his voice. It always dropped in tone when he was mad. Thankfully, you rarely saw his temper and it was never directed at you.  
     “C’mon, you know that’s not fair. She…” you sighed, you really were too nice. “She was just having a hard time coming to terms with letting you go.”  
     He paused for a few moments. Jeff had cut her little slack since she filed for divorce.  
     “I’m not asking you to be nice. I’m just saying it’s hard on her too, even though she filed,” you said.  
     “How’d I ever get someone like you in my life?” he asked.  
     “Bad taste and pure luck,” you joked.  
     As usual, he knew what you meant, the bad movie you both worked on, and maybe Anya, too. The pure luck was just that they happened to meet on that shit-show.  
     “Ouch! Well, I’d do it all again if it means I get to have you. We already know what a catch I am,” he was such a charmer.

     Somehow, you’d managed to find time to figure out how the gear shifting worked on motorcycles and got some good practice time in. You were getting better quickly, but Jeff insisted on taking you to and from work for another week to get you solid on the bike. It was nice, you got to take little naps on the way home. After one week of getting up before the sun, he thought you were good enough to ride in on your own.

     Work was good too. You figured out what it took to get Jared to where he needed to be, on time, and production was happy. Once you got that worked out, the rest of your work became much easier and you were less exhausted at the end of the day. Sometimes, you even ran lines with Jared.  
     “You sure you never acted before?” he asked you.  
     “Oh yes, I love the craft, but I freeze up when people are watching,” you explained.  
     “You were great with me just now,” he said.  
     “You, I know. We’re cool. It’s different when it’s for show,” you clarified. “I just can’t manage to spit it out when the money is on the line.”  
     “You should try it again some time, go to auditions. I’ll help you if you want,” he offered.  
     You chuckled at the thought, “You’re a sweet guy.” You didn’t say any more, but the seed idea had been planted, just the same.  
      Some of your favorite days were rain delay days. It only happened twice, but on those days, you and Jared hung out and talked books and travel and whatever else came to mind. You figured out why it was Jared ate so much food and never put on any weight. He literally couldn’t sit still. He was active all the time. If he wasn’t exercising, he was a voracious reader exercising his mind. He was great to talk to also, you learned a ton from him. He thought it was cool that you’d learned to ride a motorcycle, as well as appreciated your gaming skills.

     You were finishing up a night shoot and everyone had gone home already. After night shoots, people scattered like ants from set where wrap was called. You had forgotten to put your jacket in your bag and went back to Jared’s trailer to grab it. When you went to start the Norton, it wouldn’t turn over. You had a small panic before you called Jeff for help.  
     “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said.  
     “What the hell am I supposed to do? I’m not gonna sleep in Jared’s trailer, I need to get home to let Bisou out,” your panic was still going.  
     Jeff was out of town doing a guest spot on another show and couldn’t come down to Burbank to help you.  
     “Baby, it’s okay,” he said again. “Let me get off the phone and see what I can do. I’ll call you back.”  
     You walked around the lot pacing off your nervous energy. Maybe five minutes passed before Jeff called you back.  
     “That was quick,” you answered, “please tell me you have good news.”  
     You could hear him sigh, he was so patient with you and your stress. “(Y|N), my buddy Norman is already on the way. He’s not too far from you and he used to fix bikes back in the day.”  
     “Is this the buddy Norman that sends you all the weird shit?” you asked.  
     You hear Jeff chuckle, “Yeah, that’s the one. He’s a good guy. If he can’t get the Norton running, he’ll take you home.”  
     “Okay, I’ll be on the lookout for him,” you said.

     You went to the security shack to let them know you were having a guest and where you’d be. Twenty minutes later, you heard the rumble of another motorcycle pull up. He pulled off his helmet to reveal his short cut sandy blonde hair. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans with converse shoes and black Ray-Bans. He strode over to you, his hand outstretched. You knew you’d seen him before, but you couldn’t remember if Jeff had introduced you.  
     You took his hand, noticing it was already greasy.  
     “Hi, I’m Norman,” he said. “Jeff’s told me a lot about you.”  
     “Nice to meet you,” you said. “Jeff told you about me huh? All I can remember is that he told me you can fix bikes.”  
     “Yeah, used to do it in my past life,” he said, looking at the bike, then you.  
     “I’m sorry, have we met before? I feel like we’ve met,” you say.  
     “Nah, I get that a lot,” he said. Was he blushing? “So, what’s going on?”  
     You told him what you knew, which wasn’t much and he started fiddling with the bike. He had you watch so that if this happened again, you’d know what to do.  
     “Ah, fuck it, you got shit to do, right?” he said, frustrated when he couldn’t get it running.  
     You nodded to him.  
     “Alright, get your stuff, let’s get outta here. I can come back later and take it to my buddy’s shop,” he said putting his tools away.  
     He handed you a rag and you cleaned off the little bit of grease you had on your hands.  
     “Now you’re a real biker chick. Not a real one until you’ve had to work on your bike in the middle of nowhere. It’s not nowhere, but it may as well be,” he said as you clicked your helmet chin strap in place.  
     “Ready?” he asked.  
     “As I’ll ever be,” you said.  
     “Hop on,” he told you.  
     You swung a leg over and your feet found the pegs. If he drove anything like Jeff, you’d be hanging on for dear life, so you wrapped your arms around your new friend’s chest. It finally hit you how you knew Norman.  
     “Oh shit, you played Murphy McManus. Dude, I liked your movie,” you said into his ear.  
     He patted your hands that were gripping your own arms. “Jeff told me you were a cool chick.”

     Norman got you home in no time and Bisou was so happy to see you. She was a good girl and didn’t make a mess in the house. Norman made sure you got inside okay and assured you he’d take care of the Norton for you, but that you’d probably need to make arrangements for tonight to get to work.  
     “Can you work something out?” he asked. “I’ve got a thing I have to be at tonight, but if the bike isn’t ready by tomorrow, I can take you then.”  
     “Oh, you’re sweet. Yeah, I think I can call Jared to get me,” you said. You thanked him profusely for his help and told him that you, he and Jeff would have to get together sometime to have dinner and drinks. He thought that was a good idea too and you both said your goodbyes. You decided you liked that guy, Norman.

     Jeff was absolutely wonderful. Living with him had been a dream. You and he got along so well, it was almost gross. There was only one thing that caused a little fight between the two of you, it was about his manager, Marne. Marne was a family friend and had been doing a decent job, but she was also the one who got him the gig on the crap movie you two met on. That was about the nicest thing you could say about her. She had not been doing the best job of getting scripts for Jeff and you let him know it.  
     “I’m not going to fire someone that’s been like family to me,” he said.  
     “She could be doing so much better for you! Hell, I bet I could get you a better script than what she’s been pulling in,” you said, hot.  
     “Oh, you think you can do better than someone who’s been doing this work a hell of a lot longer than you? You’ve been in this business for four years, (Y|N), Marne has been doing this for over 20,” Jeff countered, just as hot.  
     “Looks like it’s time for Marne to retire!”  
     You dropped the conversation after that, but you hoped it had stuck in his mind a little bit, at least. A few days later, because you could be just as stubborn as he, you finally said you were sorry for your outburst about Marne. After all, it was getting close to time for you to go back to Philly and you didn’t want to leave Jeff on a sour note.  
     “I’m sorry I was an asshole,” you told him. “I just want all of the good things for you.”  
     You were sitting on the back patio having dinner. Jeff took a drink of his whisky. “I’m sorry I took a shot at your experience.”  
     “Well, I was being an asshole… I kinda deserved it,” you conceded. It didn’t mean you thought you were wrong. Marne could have been doing so much better.  
     A few days later, the Norton was packed away in Jeff’s garage, you played with Bisou in the backyard for a few hours and then you were back on a plane to Philly. Alone, again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is back in Philly and gets some news and an offer

It was only four months. You knew you could make it. If you just could get through each work week, it would be okay. You hadn’t been able to get back to LA this go around and Jeff had been busy, too. You were thinking you might have to go the whole shoot without seeing him. You talked on the phone a lot, at least once a day, but it wasn’t the same as looking next to you and seeing him with your own two eyes. Being with Jeff was bliss. Being away was torture. Thank God for work. 

     “Hey kid, have a seat,” Bob told you. Bob Singer had unexpectedly called you into his office in the production building.  
     “Bob, you’re kinda freaking me out. Are you going to fire me?” you asked.  
     You and Bob had the kind of relationship where you didn’t pull punches, if something was on your mind, you said it. Sometimes it was harsh, but you appreciated that more than being lied to.  
     “No, not exactly. The studio is thinking that they won’t order any more shows after this season and they’re thinking of cutting a few off of this one, too,” he said, to the point.  
     “Shit,” you breathed, plopping into a chair.  
     “Tell me about it. I wanted to give you a heads up so you could get your ducks in a row before the axe fell. I don’t WANT play favorites… but you’re my favorite.” He flashed you a quick grin. “You shouldn’t have to struggle,” he said pulling a card out of his desk drawer. He slid it across the desk to you.   
     Picking it up, you flipped it over to find it was his business card.  
     He pointed at you, “You ever need a job, gimme a call. If I don’t have anything behind the scenes, I’ll put you in front of the camera.”  
     If you had been drinking anything, you would have spit your drink out at his comment.  
     “Are you kidding me? I don’t act, Bob. There’s a reason I don’t go to auditions, I’m better behind the scenes,” you couldn’t believe he’d said something so ludicrous to you.  
     “Well, maybe we can get you a little screen time before we wrap this show. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. We won’t be out anything since the show is getting cancelled,” he said. “Besides, Andre said you were great with running lines for him, that you put a lot into it.”  
     You were pretty sure Andre Braugher wasn’t the type to bullshit, especially not to Bob. He was one of the more, if not most, respected actors in the business. The man can speak volumes with just his eyes. You were constantly in awe watching him work.  
     “Bob, I appreciate the offer, I really do, I’m just not sure it’s something I can do,” you said, very unsure of yourself, at least, when it came to acting. Every actress you’d ever met had been tiny and beautiful. You were neither of those things, let alone an actress.   
     “Never say never, kid. Next show I get, I’m calling you. I need a good production coordinator. Now get out of here,” he said shuffling papers and pulling out a folder.  
     You loved your job. You had the best of both worlds. You got to see the show being made, met all of the actors and made sure everything was running smooth with them. You got to go behind the scenes and work with the producer of the show and have a view of the inner workings. Getting up out of the chair, you leaned over the desk with your hand outstretched.  
     “Thanks, Bob, for everything,” you said.  
     “It ain’t over yet, kid. Lock it up, and get back out there,” he said, not unkindly. He did take your hand though and patted the top with his other hand, but only briefly.  
     You’d stepped outside of Bob’s office and pulled out your phone. Jeff had called you three times in a row while you were in the office with Bob. You were about to call him back when Jeff called you again.  
     “Jeff? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” you were worried. He never called you four times in a row for anything. Not even when Bisou got stung by a wasp.  
     “Sweetheart, I think it’s finally going to happen. I just got notice that we’ve been assigned a trial date. It’s scheduled for about three weeks before you’re done in Philly,” he said, barely able to contain himself. “I could be divorced in a few months.”  
     “Holy shit, that’s good news,” you said.  
     “Fuckin-a right it is,” you thought he still sounded anxious. “We need to celebrate. What should we do?”  
     Of course, you’d hoped that Anya would be cool and let things move along, but you weren’t sure you really expected it to be so quickly.   
     “I don’t know, I’m kind of in shock. There’s some shit going down here,” you said.  
     “What’s up?” he asked.  
     You walked outside the production office and started toward your favorite spot. You found the only grassy area at the studio and practically collapsed on it, you didn’t even give a fuck.   
     “Jeff, my show is ending,” you told him.  
     Your brain suddenly kicked into overdrive and sent you reeling. If you weren’t already lying down, you might have passed out. In a matter of weeks, you would be out of a job, out of a home and no plan for the future. For the first time ever, you didn’t know what you were going to do.  
     “Woah, don’t panic. That sucks, um,” he thought for a moment.  
     You were trying not to start bawling. Your fingers rested on top of the necklace Jeff gave you that was tucked into your shirt.   
     “Sweetheart, ever since you went to back to Philly, Bisou has been a mess. All she does is mope, she misses you,” he said.  
     You took a deep breath and sighed. “Bisou misses me?”  
     “Yeah, she does. A lot. She barely eats. I think she would feel a lot better if you just lived here full-time,” he said.  
     You thought you heard some wind from his side of the phone.  
     “What? What are you doing? Are you outside?” you asked.  
     “Yeah, I’m looking for something. I feel lost without it,” he said.   
     “What are you looking for?” you asked.  
     “Something is missing from the house,” he said. “I kinda need it back. Hold on a sec, I think I found it.”  
     You weren’t sure but you thought you heard the phone disconnect.

     He’d gone to her apartment first, she wasn’t there of course, but he punched the code in and let himself into her building and apartment. Bisou ran around smelling everything.  
     “Yeah, you smell her don’t ya, Bisou,” he said to the dog.  
     Jeff had been sitting on the news for almost a week, but he needed to take care of a few things before he could fly out to Philly. When he arrived, he couldn’t wait to tell her. He figured she drove her POS Blazer to the studio, but he saw that the keys were still hanging on the peg by the door. He thought it was a little odd, but he grabbed the keys, and made sure Bisou did her business before he made her a blanket bed and headed out to the studio.  
     When he got to the security gate, he found that (Y|N) had left a standing security pass for him if he ever came to visit. He smiled as he looked at the pass, she always thought of everything. He got out his phone and tried calling her, no answer. He pulled onto the lot where security had told him to go and saw that there was a Harley Sportster sitting by the production office.   
     “That’s my girl,” he said.  
     He got out of the Blazer not really knowing where to go. She could be anywhere. He called her again, still no answer. He started walking toward where the people were walking. When he made it to the set, he called again, no answer. Jeff grabbed someone’s attention and asked where he could find (Y|N).  
     “Oh, she went to go talk to Bob. You know where the office is?” the person asked.  
     “Shit, yes, I was just there. Thanks,” he said and started walking back.  
     He called one more time and she picked up. He told her about his news and she was telling him about hers when he finally spotted her. She hadn’t noticed him walking up. He snickered at seeing her lying sprawled out on the grass. It was her thing, apparently. The first time he’d met her, she was sitting on the grass under a tree, trying to relax.  
     “Hold on a sec, I think I found it,” he said and closed his phone.  
     He quickly laid down on the grass next to her.   
     “Holy shit!” you said, “You scared the hell out of me, what are you doing here?!”  
     “Don’t I get a ‘Hi, how are ya?’” he asked grinning.  
     You rolled over onto him and he squeezed the hell out of you. You both sat up after a moment and you kissed him with everything you had.  
     “Easy now,” he said after finally breaking apart, “Don’t be starting something out here you can’t finish. I mean, I know I’m irresistible, but we’re kinda out in the open… unless you’re into that.”  
     You turned your body so you could face him directly.  
     “Oh, stop it!,” you laughed. “Hi, how are ya?” you said, smiling at him. “What are you doing here?”  
     “Missed my girl,” he said seriously. “I was gonna ask you anyway, before you told me your news, but when you’re done out here, I want you to come live with me. I want my house to be OUR house.”  
     You looked in his eyes and you thought for a second that the man you knew to have such confidence might have looked more than a little nervous to ask you to live with him.   
     “It’s just not the same without you. I wasn’t kidding about Bisou, she misses you, too,” he paused a moment and you saw that swagger come back, “Besides, I need someone to make me dinner and wash my clothes and rub my feet after a long day.”  
     Your face must have given him the reaction he wanted because he couldn’t hold back his laughter.  
     “You are out of your damned mind if you think I’ll be some Suzie Homemaker!” you were trying to be outraged, but you just couldn’t hold onto the feeling.  
     “AAhhh!! You should have seen your face! It was worth it!” he laughed more.  
     “Are you serious about me living with you, like for real, no bullshit, committed to eachother, living together?” you asked, not quite sure if he was done joking.  
     When he composed himself, he said, “Yeah, of course I am, I need someone to tease unmercifully whenever I want to.”  
     “You have a dog,” you said wryly.  
     “She bites when I tease her,” he snickered.  
     “Shit, I might, too. Keep it up, Jeff,” you warned. “And if I do move in with you, you agree to all of my crazy that I bring with me?”  
     “Sweetheart, you’re my kind of crazy,” he said, looking incredibly handsome.  
     “Okay,” you said simply.   
     Jeff leaned over you and kissed you sweetly, a hint of what the evening held.  
     “Good. I was thinking, when we get a chance, let’s go up to Washington and I can show you around, see where I grew up… you could meet my mom,” he said.  
     “I’ll go anywhere with you,” you said.  
     “Don’t worry about the other stuff,” he said. “We’ll work that out as it comes. Besides, I bet you’ll have people jumping to hire you and your binder.”  
     “I love you, you know that, right?” you asked.  
     “I know,” he answered.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Jeff are working, but not together. Getting used to being “official” has been a little bumpy

As soon as “Hack” ended, you and Jeff did NOT go on a trip to visit his mom, instead, he began working on a movie called “Dead and Breakfast” at the beginning of the year. Jeff’s role wasn’t particularly big in the movie and you thought he may have finally seen the light about Marne. Thankfully, she did the hard part for him and retired a month after she got him the job.  
     Jeff was the kind of guy that wouldn’t tell you if something was bothering him. You thought he did it to spare you any worry. Who did he think he was kidding, anyway? Both of you had gotten so good at reading the other, sometimes you almost didn’t need to speak. You weren’t quite sure what it was that had crawled under his skin, but whatever it was had burrowed in. He’d been more than a little edgy the last two times he’d called. Unfortunately, while Jeff was working on “Dead and Breakfast,” you had to make a tough phone call to him.  
     “Jeff, I got a job,” you said, less than enthusiastic.  
     “Uh, that’s a good thing, quick, too. Why don’t you sound happy?” he asked.  
     Why is breaking bad news so much harder than good news? “It’s not in California. It’s kinda far away.”  
     “What, like New York or something?” he asked.  
     Ugh, he sounded busy… “No, it’s mostly going to be in Auckland, New Zealand,” you blurted out.  
     “Jesus Christ, (Y|N), are you fucking serious?” you’d definitely shocked him. “When does it start!?”  
     “Next week,” you mumbled.  
     “Did you just fucking say ‘next week’?!”   
     It was hard to tell if he was mad or not, he’d never directed any anger at you before.  
     “Jeff, I know it’s not the greatest timing, but we could use the money,” you tried to keep your tone even.  
     There was a long awkward pause between the two of you. Marne had just retired and he had been feeling the pressure. Money was a little tight for him and it was only going to get tighter if you didn’t pick up a job, too. You could hear him let out a heavy sigh.  
     “Are you going to come up before you leave?” he asked.  
     Jeff was filming up near San Jose. The drive alone would take at least 5 hours, if not more. Of course, you wanted to go, but you hadn’t talked to production yet to see if they could get your flight out of Sacramento instead of LA.  
     “I want to, I really do. I have to talk to Mr. Rami to see if I can leave from up there. They only just called me a little bit before I called you,” you told him. Why did you feel so guilty? “Do you WANT me to come up?”  
     Your relationship had gotten hard since you moved in with Jeff. It wasn’t a difficult move for you, but it was a big change to your usual nomadic life. Your show had finished and you uprooted your little life from Philly and moved it completely to LA. You sold your POS Blazer, returned the motorcycle to the place from where you were renting, and packed up your meager belongings. The furniture that was in your apartment came with the place. Your life had fit into a grand total of 10 large boxes and all of it had been shipped to LA. You were happy to be there, you loved Jeff, he still made you happy and you were always excited to see him and his goofy ways made you smile. You didn’t want to think he regretted having you move in, but there was definitely something about you being there that was upsetting for him.  
     You heard him sigh loudly, again. “Maybe you should just stay there.”  
     Never had such simple words cut so deeply. Your stomach gave an odd lurch and you were immediately nauseated, your stomach churning out the acid. Your heart was pounding out of your neck. He’d never not wanted to be near you before. You couldn’t stay away from each other, you never could, it had always been like that for you. Now, “officially” his live-in girlfriend, it had only taken a month and a half for him to want to kick you out, you were sure of it. Your mind went to your ten boxes and how quickly you could fill them and be out of his house.

Auckland, New Zealand  
     “What the hell am I doing?” you called over your shoulder at the director.  
     “You’re going to run to the right and once you get inside, you give the speech to ‘Kate’,” he told you.  
     You weren’t sure how they’d wrangled you into it, but they got you in front of the camera. He called action and you all took off to the right and went inside the set where the second crew was waiting to get the reaction shot and speech, at the end of which, you had to make a horrible face because the ‘boogeyman’ killed you.  
     “Cut! Print that one!” you heard Steven call out.   
     You got up off the floor where you had died and grinned like a fool. That was fun, a lot of fun.   
     “Alright, that’s a wrap for you, (Y|N),” Steve came over to tell you and walked you back outside. “That was good. Thanks for doing that, it really helped us out. You seriously never acted before?”  
     “Nah,” you said, “I was always too scared. But I watched other actors and read lines with them.”  
     He clapped you on the shoulder. “Well, that was good. Now go get cleaned up and come back. The PAs are running wild without you.” He smiled and pointed at Tyler, your newest, wet-behind-the-ears PA.  
     “Shit,” you said. He was carrying way too much equipment and about to lose it all in the mud. “Tyler, hold up!” you dashed over to him. “Dude, we have a hand cart special for carrying stuff like this, even in the mud.” You took some of the lighting cords from him, “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

     After helping Tyler, you needed to not only get the makeup off, you also needed to get out of the mud covered wardrobe. When Emily Deschanel, the lead actress, had seen you, she insisted you use her shower. The folks in the wardrobe trailer were not happy about the state in which they were returned, but no one else was going to wear them so they let you off the hook. A half hour later, you were back on set and ready to work, your trusty binder in hand.  
     You and that binder had been through a lot. Your dad had given it to you when you started your senior year of high school. You kept all of the production notes in it as well as a personal journal of significant events and learning experiences. There was a lull in the shoot and you weren’t needed immediately, so you found a chair to sit in and opened the binder to the letter you were writing to Jeff.  
     ‘Out in the boonies’ was a phrase that came to mind when you needed to describe this location. Cell service was virtually nonexistent. Your phone call with Jeff before you left for New Zealand hadn’t exactly ended very well. He was upset about something and wouldn’t say what it was. He told you to stay in LA and you thought for sure that he was going to ask you to pack up as soon as you got back. It had left you with a nearly constant upset stomach if you were left to think about it too long. Your star necklace was in its usual spot and you touched it thinking of his amazing smile, hoping that you hadn’t ruined anything with him.  
     “You okay?” a voice next to you asked.  
     “Huh?” you looked over to your right, it was Kripke, the screenwriter. “Oh, sorta. I didn’t leave things so great with my boyfriend when I left to come down here. Not sure I’ll still have a boyfriend when I get back.”  
     “That’s not good. Do you love him?” he asked.  
     You nodded, “Yeah, I do. Being with him is the best thing that ever happened to me.”  
     “What’s he like?” he wanted to know. “Short and nerdy?”  
     That made you chuckle. “Ha, no, not short.”  
     “Ah, TALL and nerdy,” he smiled.  
     “He’s tall, dark hair and eyes. He has a beard now for a movie and he’s got this little patch of gray hair on his chin. He’s a big guy, about 6’3”, he’s thick, but not fat. He’s a big goofball, everyone loves him, he takes care of me, always makes sure I’m okay. He loves his dog, his bike and me…” you were smiling, but it faded thinking of how you left Jeff. “Well, maybe not me anymore.”  
     You and Kripke hadn’t gotten especially close, but he was one of the people you looked after and in the last month and a half, you’d gotten to know each other a little bit. When you’re on a production set, the friendships come fast or they don’t at all, sometimes there’s a slow and steady build-up but not often. You and Kripke got along well and you had an easy repartee. Having gone through so much with your family, you’d learned to be careful about how much you gave away of your personal life, it just wasn’t something you liked to talk about. Hell, you still hadn’t even told Jeff everything, and he knew you better than anyone.  
     “If you don’t mind my asking, what happened?” he was curious.  
     You took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I guess I panicked. I upset him by getting this job and going so far away. I also told him that his manager wasn’t doing him any favors. She kept sending him shit scripts. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great actor, but he deserves better. I think he also felt bad because I’d just moved in and he couldn’t take care of me as well as he wanted to. Men.”  
     “So, you know you both over-reacted?”  
     You nodded.  
     “Have you tried calling him at all? It’s been over a month since we got here. We’ll probably be here another month, (Y|N),” he said.  
     You nodded again. “I left a message when he was still on the movie and one since he got home a few weeks ago. I haven’t heard anything from him.”  
     You could feel Kripke studying you. A year. A year where you never went a day without talking to the other. It was now coming up on 6 weeks of not a word spoken. Your heart ached all the time. Tums was sending you thank-you notes for their bump in sales. Kripke made a little grunt sound, you felt a little bad for laying that all on him, but he was the one that asked.  
     “Call him, every day. Leave messages, tell him where to call. Guys are stubborn. You love him, right? Fight for that,” he said. He picked up his laptop and was about to leave, but he needed to say one more thing, “Call him now. Don’t wait.”  
     There was a phone in the room. Funny how something so small and insignificant can scare the hell out of you. There was so much you wanted to say, so much you needed to say, but there was really only one question you needed answered.  
     You got out your phone card and picked up the phone. It took forever to dial, punching in all of those numbers, but it finally started ringing. You had no idea what the time difference was, he could be anywhere, or sleeping, or with someone else.

Los Angeles  
     It had been weeks since he’d talked to her. He hadn’t meant to be a dick when she let him know about her job, but everything came out all wrong. Somewhat impulsively, he’d asked her to move in with him. It was, really, the right thing to do, he didn’t like the thought of her not living with him when she wasn’t working. He just hadn’t considered the financial aspect of a second person living with him again. Later on, of course, he realized that she was paying for things on her own, and that made him feel even worse.   
     He had been stressed out about it when he spoke with her and didn’t know that she was paying for the household bills while he was away. She was going to be going to fucking New Zealand to do a movie. For him, it just highlighted the fact that he wasn’t working enough to support himself, let alone (Y|N), too. The thought of spending more money made him reconsider her visiting set before she left. He knew he’d hurt her feelings, but he thought it would be best.   
     She only called him one more time after that call to set, and to say it was a chilly call would be generous. She had told him that in New Zealand, cell service would be minimal and it would cost a fortune to call the States, so she probably wouldn’t call much. She had the house all taken care of and would be leaving the next day. She didn’t say ‘I love you’ and neither did he and he’d been kicking himself ever since. He’d missed at least one call from her and she hadn’t left a call back number because they were moving around a lot. He called her cell once, but it went straight to her voicemail.

     His film shoot had ended a month after you left for New Zealand and he would have been glad to be home, except you weren’t there. He’d thrown his bag in the laundry room and left it there. Bisou was running around checking all of the rooms and she came back to stare at him. When he didn’t say anything, Bisou barked at him.  
     “She’s not here, baby, she’s working,” he muttered.  
     Bisou let out a low ‘woof.’  
     “I know,” he said.  
     That had been weeks ago. Now he and Bisou were sitting on the patio. Jeff had a whisky and Bisou had a bone. The script he had brought out sat on the table untouched. At first, he wasn’t sure the sound he was hearing was the buzz in his ears, cicadas or the phone. In the off chance that it was the phone, he slowly got up and went to the door to confirm his guess. The tell-tale chime said he was right. He opened the door and went inside to the phone just around the corner.  
     He looked at the caller ID and didn’t recognize the number. It finally dawned on him that it was an international number.  
     He snatched up the receiver, “Hello?”  
     “Jeff?”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norman stops by, trip plans, reader reveals about her family

Finally, it got to be the end of May and that meant that your movie was done and you were back in the states and Jeff was done with TV season. You had two amazing weeks together of doing absolutely nothing and it was perfect. On one particularly lazy, late morning, you both were just lying in bed watching a movie when Jeff’s cell phone rang.  
     He picked up his phone, looked at the display and flipped it open.  
     “Norman, what’s up, bubba?” he said.  
     Ever since Norman had gone down to Burbank to help you with the Norton, you and Jeff had him over for a few weekends here and there, especially after he and Helena ended things. He was nice to hang out with, easy to talk to, good listener. He and Jeff would spend a lot of time either riding bikes or they would go out for drinks; you usually went with them for the drinks. Those nights out were a lot of fun, but the mornings after were rough. You liked Norman a lot. He was quiet, very warm and such a flirt. You thought of him as a friend and that made Jeff happy, too.  
     “What’s wrong? Is he okay?” you whispered.  
     Jeff held up his finger to quiet you, he looked like he was straining to hear Norman. “Yeah buddy, be right there.” He flipped the phone shut.  
     Jeff looked at you, “Norman is here, needs a place to stay while he’s working.”  
     “Like here, here?” you asked. Jeff nodded. “Shit,” you sprang out of bed and ran your fingers through your hair. Jeff followed right behind you as you went jogging to the front door. You turned the locks and opened the door for Norman.   
     He gave you a once over and you were painfully aware that you hadn’t gotten out of bed all day. You had on one of Jeff’s funny t-shirts, shorts, and that was it.  
       
     Jeff watched as his buddy checked out his girlfriend. Norman always appreciated a gorgeous lady and (Y|N) fit that easily, especially looking the way she did just then. Hair all messy, wearing his t-shirt, her shorts barely showing making her legs look like they went on for days, and they did, sexy as all hell. It made Jeff happy that his best girl got on so well with his best buddy. He watched as she welcomed him in with a hug. Norman was all too happy to accept the hug and Jeff smirked when Norman flipped him off while he hugged (Y|N). Norm just grinned back.

     You knew Norman liked you too, but you’d made it clear Jeff was your boyfriend and he came back with, “I know, but I’m still gonna flirt with you.”  
     Well then… “Okay, so long as you know, I’m in love with him,” you said.  
     “Don’t worry (Y|N), I think it’s great you’re with him. He’s damn near beaming. It’s almost gross how cute you two are,” he said.    
     He was faking his disgust and you socked him in the shoulder.

     “Sweetie,” you said to him, “we’re going to go on a trip soon, will you be okay here by yourself?”  
     “Oh man, I’m sorry, I shoulda called sooner. Do you want me to go somewhere else?” he was turning a little pink.  
     “Norman, we’d never ask you to leave, I just want to make sure you’re okay on your own. You can call us any time if you need to talk. But we’re gonna leave in a couple days,” you explained.  
     “Nah, you guys go, I’ll be fine. Things are okay with me and Helena,” he said. “Just bring me back something cool.”  
     You smiled at him. Norman was an odd duck and you liked that about him.   
     “Make yourself at home,” you told him.  
     He already had, actually. Norman had spent a lot of time with you and Jeff over the last year and the spare room was now referred to as “Norman’s room” by you both.   
     The two days passed quickly and you were glad Norman had been there. If there was anything that Norman was good at, it was being a distraction. The trip you were going to take had been put off for almost five months. You could have stood to have it put off much longer, but if you’d tried to tell that to Jeff, he would have said it had been put off too long, already.  
     “You ready, sweetheart?” he said making sure the sure the bags were secured to the roof of the Jeep.  
     “I… I need to go tell Norman something,” you said and started to walk away.  
     “(Y|N),” Jeff’s voice was firm and it made you stop. “You already told Norm everything…twice. Get in, please.”  
     Bisou was getting impatient and let out a low ‘woof.’ You got in the Jeep on the passenger side and Bisou gave you a very wet kiss on the side of your face and part of your ear. You reached up your left hand and rubbed her face and neck.  
     “Sit back, baby,” you told her.  
     You watched her as she did what she was told. The big dog settled on the back seat, looking all around out the windows. Oh, the joy of being a dog and NOT knowing where you were going, just being happy to be going for a ride.   
     Jeff climbed in and you almost laughed at how cramped he looked, but you were too anxious to think about it. He reached down and slid the seat the rest of the way back and tipped the seatback a little as well. When he finally got comfortable, he looked at you. He was so excited. You tried to smile for him.  
     “My parents are going to love you,” he said, finally starting your Jeep.  
     You were sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that Richard and Sandy Morgan were the two scariest people on the face of the planet, not even Jeff would be able to convince you otherwise. You were finally going to go up to Washington to meet Jeff’s parents. From what you understood, this was something that normal people in normal relationships did. You’d never had such a relationship before. When you were in high school, you didn’t really date anyone, just a few trips to the movies that never really amounted to much. There was just way too much family stuff going on to even think about serious dating. Besides, if you had, you’d come from such a small town that you already knew everyone’s parents. College wasn’t much better.  
     And now, you sat in the passenger seat of your Jeep with the intention of being a real adult and meeting the parents of the man you loved. Terrified didn’t even touch what you were feeling. You were going to do everything in your power to make sure Jeff drove slow and did some sight-seeing.  
     “I sure hope so,” was all you could manage to say.  
     It was after the second fill-up and after your repeated requests to stop for the night and get dinner that Jeff ultimately asked you questions that had been bothering him for a long while, something you had been avoiding for just as long.  
     “Are you secretly wealthy?” he said bluntly. “Money never seems to be a concern for you. Are you a trust baby? Why don’t you ever talk about your family?”  
     You knew you couldn’t avoid it forever and you were in the Jeep with him for at least another day. You figured you may as well tell him.  
     “Am I secretly wealthy? No, not secretly and not especially wealthy either. My grandparents were really smart. My grandma was an accountant and Grandpa was in construction, that was a really good business to be in back then. She managed the shit-load of money that he brought in and grew it. When they died,” you heard your voice hitch, it always did when you thought about them. “When they died, they had a sizeable…estate, I guess… I didn’t get to touch it until I was 25 or my parents died.”  
     You looked over at Jeff and knew he was doing the math. You’d be 25 in just a few days and in the almost 5 years since you’d met, you’d never talked about your family and if you had, it was only in little scraps. He knew your parents weren’t in your life, but he didn’t know why, you were sure he suspected though.  
     “Grandpa died when I was 14. Grandma and my dad died suddenly when I was 16. Mom tried to hold on for me, they were her parents, and then my dad, too, she just couldn’t do it. The doctors said it was a heart attack, but I know it was a broken heart. My dad’s parents had died when I was little so, when I was 18, I was on my own. I’ve been careful with the money. I’ve never really needed much. Turns out, I’m good with numbers, too. I’ve been living off the interest I’ve made from investments.”  
     Jeff reached over and took your hand. He didn’t say anything, he just squeezed your hand and you rode on in silence for a while. It wasn’t awkward, just the peace of the open road.

     Jeff knew she’d been keeping something buried down deep, he just hadn’t expected what she told him. Her whole family was gone. It just broke his heart that she’d been without a family for so long. He didn’t even care about the money, but it was nice to know that she had something to fall back on if she needed it. She didn’t go overboard on anything, the most outlandish purchase he’d seen her make was the Jeep he was driving and even so, it was three years old. When he turned to look at her, she was already looking back.  
     She always seemed to know what he was thinking.  
     “We could stop for the night here,” she said.   
     “You don’t have to be scared to meet my parents, they’ll love you,” he said. They were on the 101 outside of San Francisco. “I know you’re trying to stall.”  
     “Isn’t Alcatraz here?” she asked, ignoring his comment. “That’d be so cool to see.”  
     He shouldn’t have been surprised, he always wanted to see Alcatraz, and she almost always liked the same things as him. The only thing he liked but found that she didn’t enjoy was horror movies, even then she still watched them with him. More like, she burrowed into his chest while HE watched the movie. It may, or may not, have been the reason he watched those movies with her.  
     He could feel himself relenting, “Devil woman.”   
     “Would it be too rude? We could catch it on the way back,” she compromised.  
     He slowed the Jeep as they came to an off-ramp. “I’ll call my mom and see what she and Dad have planned.” Her being scared to meet his parents made a lot more sense now. She wasn’t just scared to be meeting her boyfriend’s parents, she was scared to be part of a family again.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip moves on from San Francisco to the Seattle suburbs, reader meets Jeff’s parents

Jeff got in contact with his mom and she was fine with the two of you taking a day before finishing the drive. So, you and Jeff found a hotel for the night and took your tour of Alcatraz Island the next day. The tour guides tried to keep it a serious tour, and they did a fantastic job, but you and Jeff couldn’t stop making sarcastic remarks and inappropriate jokes the whole time. The park rangers were not amused when every time they said “penal” you and Jeff would snicker, the rangers kept giving you dirty looks, but it didn’t stop either of you. By the time you got back to your hotel, there wasn’t much time left in the day to travel, so you stayed another night and you had ideas on how to occupy Jeff’s time.  
     Wake-up call came far too early for either of you. Jeff wanted to make it for dinner at his parents’ house and that meant getting up at 0530 so you all could be on the road by 0630. It was going to be a long day of driving, but the fun you’d had the day before made it worth it. Instead of sticking to the 101, Jeff opted to take interstate 5 up north so it would go quicker. Jeff was doing a good job of keeping you distracted but when you were a half hour away, nothing could stop the butterflies from trying to escape.  
     He noticed when she got quiet. She wasn’t a big talker in the first place, but he usually could keep her going. They’d always been able to talk about almost anything. It never failed to surprise him how much they had in common, especially considering their age difference. He saw her looking out her window and knew that she was getting nervous.  
     “Sweetheart, you gotta relax,” he said smiling.  
     She looked at him and knew instantly that was the wrong thing to say.  
     “Relax? Relax? You want me to relax knowing that in the next thirty minutes I will be meeting my boyfriend’s parents for the first time? I haven’t been around anyone’s parents since my own died, I’m FREAKING OUT Jeff!”  
     “Okay, I’m sorry, you’re right,” he turned back to the road. They were getting close. He’d pulled off into the suburbs and were mere minutes away from the house.  
     “I’ve never met anyone’s parents before, Jeff,” she said quietly.  
     “I know, sweetheart, it’ll be fine,” he tried to reassure her.   
     Just a few moments passed and you were turning into the long driveway. As you pulled up, you noticed that everything looked beautiful. It was so green up there. The house was well taken care of and the yard neat and tidy. There were flowers on the front steps and a flag on the porch.  
     You got out slowly. Jeff was already letting Bisou out and getting the bags down from the roof. You’d just set foot out of the Jeep when the front door burst open and a small lady came out with her arms upstretched calling, “You’re here!”  
     Jeff put a bag down by your feet and Bisou took off running toward the house, where a good-looking older gentleman came walking out of the door.  
     “Oh, watch out, she’s a hugger,” Jeff winked at you and had his shit-eating grin plastered on his face.  
     The look of terror on your face sent him over the edge in fits of laughter as his mom, Sandy, came up to you and squeezed you in a surprisingly tight hug.  
     “Oh sweetie, you must be (Y|N), it’s so good to finally meet you!” she finally let you go. “Jeff has told us so much about you!”  
     Jeff’s dad, Richard, had reached you by then. He was more quiet than his wife, but not too much.  
     “Let me get that bag for you, (Y|N),” Richard said and took your bag. “It’s good to meet you, come inside.”  
     “Dinner is almost ready, I hope you two are hungry,” Sandy said.  
     “Uh, yeah, starving actually,” you answered. Richard and Jeff were ahead of you both and were taking the bags inside.  
     Sandy stopped you. “(Y|N), I’m going to be blunt for a minute,” she paused until you nodded, “My son hasn’t been this happy in a long time, maybe ever. It’s nice to see that light in his eyes again. Tell me, sweetie, are you in love with him?”  
     You felt the trickle of sweat run down your back, your heart thumping. You tried to speak, but couldn’t form a word, all you could do was nod. The terror must have been evident on your face.  
     Sandy smiled up at you. “Don’t worry, honey. You’re part of the family now. Anyone that makes Jeff so happy that he’ll drive 12 hours straight in a Jeep, can’t be all bad,” she teased.  
     You let out a shaky breath and a smile, “I think coming up in his truck would have been worse!”  
     Sandy crooked her arm in yours and led you inside the house. “Wait til you see the baby pictures I have. Jeff will be so embarrassed!”  
     You liked Sandy already.  
     Richard and Sandy were very much like their son, very easy to talk to and get to know. They shared a lot with you and made you feel like you really were part of the family in a very short time. You’d spent five days in the Morgan home and you felt like you could have stayed much longer. It was nice to have the feeling of a surrogate Mom and Dad. It had been seven years since you had an “adult” in your life.  
     It was your last night in the Morgan home and Jeff had just put a rack of ribs and chicken breasts on the grill. He’d prepared them the day before and they smelled delicious. You were sitting on a stool in the kitchen talking to his mom. When Jeff came back in, he brought with him the smell of the BBQ.  
     “And how are my two favorite ladies doing?” he asked in his charming way.  He went to the sink to wash his hands.  
     “Your mom was just telling me about your pet parakeet,” you told him trying to hide your grin as you took a drink of your Captain and Coke.  
     Jeff gave his mom a funny look before he spoke to you, “It was an accident, I swear! I don’t leave clothes like that anymore. Tell her!” Jeff pointed to his mom for you to explain.  
     You felt hot from trying to keep the laughter in. You were breathing hard when you said, “It’s true, he picks up after himself better now.”  
     “Better?” Sandy said.  
     “Well, there’s a lot less places for a parakeet to hide,” you teased. “Poor lil guy.”  
     Jeff finished washing his hands and came around the bar to stand behind you. He wrapped his arms around you so you couldn’t move your arms and rasped his beard into your neck making you screech.  
     “It was an accident!” he grumbled into your neck, sending goosebumps down your side. “Tell me I’m a good boyfriend.”  
     “Oh my God, you’re a good boyfriend!” you said. Just as quickly as he’d grabbed you, he let you go and spun you around on the barstool and put his hands on the arm rests, his face inches from yours.  
     You put your hands on his smiling face, your thumbs tracing his cheek bones. You looked up into his eyes. No words needed to be spoken, he knew what you were thinking. He leaned in and kissed you tenderly on your lips. With your hands still on his face, his mouth goes to your ear.  
     “Happy Birthday, sweetheart, I love you so much,” he said, giving you goosebumps again. He kissed the spot on your neck just below your ear then stood up straight. “I’m gonna check on the food.”  
     Sandy was watching you like she had seen her future filled with grandchildren. Instead of saying anything about you and Jeff, she took a different route.  
     “(Y|N), I didn’t know it was your birthday until this morning. SOMEBODY, didn’t tell me,” she shot Jeff a dirty look, “you have to promise you’ll come back then we can go get you something special.”  
     “Oh, Sandy, that’s not necessary. Honestly, this is one of the best birthdays I’ve had in quite a long time,” you told her. “Have you had his barbeque before? He’s amazing.”   
     Sandy just gave you a knowing smile. She knew that look in your eyes. She saw it every time she looked at Richard and she hoped that her husband saw the same look in her own eyes. An idea struck her. She would need to talk to Richard first, but she was certain he would be okay with it.  
     After a little more chit chat with (Y|N), Richard came back in. He stood near (Y|N) and put his hand on her shoulder in a way Sandy had seen him do with Jeff. Sandy saw her smile up at him and pat his hand absently. (Y|N) was fitting in nicely.  
     Jeff didn’t know what to get you for your birthday, but he had somehow managed to find earrings to go with the star necklace he had given you five years ago. You told him he shouldn’t have, but you put them in immediately.   
     He touched the star that hung around your neck, “You sure it’s okay?”  
     “I love them, of course they’re okay. I love stars and they’re from you, so even better,” you assured him. You turned your head and moved your hair out of the way so you could see them sparkle in the mirror. You saw him watching you move in the mirror. Slowly, you turned around to face him, dropping your hair. You put your hand on his chest and ran it up behind his neck, stepping closer as you pulled him down to you…  
     Best birthday ever.  
     The next morning, you were getting ready to go. You noticed that Jeff still had the spring in his step from the night before. Sandy and Richard both gave you a warm hug and sent you on your way. Bisou was not happy to be stuck in the back seat again, but she settled down after a bit. Thankfully, you kept a box of tissues in your Jeep. Usually you kept it for your allergies, but this time, you used ‘em for your tears you’d hoped wouldn’t come.  
     “You okay, sweetheart?” Jeff asked you.  
     “Yeah,” you sniffled. “That was just harder than I thought it’d be.”  
     “Told you they’d love you,” he said.  
     Yeah, but you weren’t expecting to love them back…  
     “We’ve got three days to get home, where do you want to go first?” he changed the subject.  
     “I wanna go to Astoria, Oregon,” you told him.  
     Jeff laughed, “The Goonies house?”  
     “Hell yes! Plus, I told Norman I’d get him something cool,” you told him.  
     He was still chuckling, “You know he’s an adult, right?”  
     “Yeah, but still, how cool would it be to get something from there? We could, at least, get something for Ming,” you reasoned.  
     Jeff really didn’t need his arm twisted, he would do anything if he could just be with her forever… Plus, he wanted to see The Goonies house, too.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s 2005. Reader and Jared go out for drinks. Jeff comes home early.

As usual, the summer went too quickly, and before they knew what hit them, you were back on your familiar routine of riding the Norton from Jeff’s house to the Gilmore Girls set in Burbank. Weeks turned into months and it got to be 2005 in a hurry.   
     Jared wasn’t on the show as much anymore and you missed your friend. When he was in town, you spent at least one of those days out on the town making the most of things. Since he’d just turned 21 before filming started, you half-way felt like you needed to go out with him just to keep him out of trouble. If his mouth didn’t get him in hot water, you were literally picking his huge ass up off the floor. Not an easy feat when your buddy is seven inches taller than you. It took effort from you to get Jared in your Jeep, but you always got him home safe. Jeff was less appreciative of the time you spent with Jared because he was the one you called to pick you up from Jared’s house and then drive you back to get his truck home or load up the Norton. When Jeff was away working you’d just stay at Jared’s. To you Jared was your giant, little brother.  
     He had no right to be mad and he knew it. There were countless times he’d gone out after work for drinks, smoke his throat raw and never think twice about it. When she would call him to get her, he knew she was doing it to be safe by not driving herself. He hated to admit it, but it sometimes irritated the shit out of him that she was out partying with another man, a younger man than himself. She did, almost always, remember to let him know where she was. This time though, he’d come home to an empty house with only Bisou to greet him. It’d been dark for a while and (Y|N) wasn’t home. When he’d gotten cleaned up and taken care of his luggage, she still wasn’t there, so he called her. …. straight to voicemail. He grabbed his coat and keys and slammed the door behind him as he went to the garage and his truck.

     You’d wanted to go home after your second drink, but Jared can be very convincing. Plus, he hadn’t yet learned the art of pacing oneself. He wasn’t sloppy drunk, but he was definitely having a good time. As usual, you’d taken his keys as soon as you’d gotten to the bar, which was within walking distance of his house.  
     You were throwing darts with some people you’d met that night. It was in the back of the bar away from the crowd. You little group suddenly got quiet and were staring at something behind you.  
     “What?” you asked.  
     One of the group pointed and you turned around to see a shirtless Jared grinning from ear to ear at you and there was an equally tall, but much more muscular man, behind him with his hand on Jared’s shoulder.  
     “Shit,” you said to yourself.  
     “There’s my (Y|N|N),” Jared was extra happy.  
     “Does this belong to you,” the bouncer asked, clearly unamused.  
     Your little group forgotten, “Did he break anything?”  
     “Nah, just get him outta here,” the bouncer said, turning Jared over to you.  
     Looking up at your slightly wobbly friend, “Dude, where’s your shirt?”  
     He shrugged, “I dunno, I was hot.”  
     He hugged you close and wiggled.  
     “Oh, my God, you’re gross! Please tell me that’s sweat!” you were not thrilled with his sweat being transferred to you.  
     “Yeah, probably some beer, too,” he grinned again.  
     You grab his arm by the elbow and start leading him out of the bar. He was pretty compliant, so you let go of his arm. You were about to the door and were going to say something to him when you turned to look for him and he wasn’t there.  
     “Goddamnit, Jared,” you grumbled and spotted your jolly giant easily.  
    You went to him and took his arm again.  
     “(Y|N|N), you’re a party pooper,” he giggled.  
     “Because you’re my family and I love you, is the lonely reason I’m not ditching your drunk ass right now. C’mon before the bouncer throws you out,” you urged.  
     He grumbled a little more, but not too much and let you take him outside to your Jeep. He hated riding in it, but you refused to let your soft-top Jeep sit outside all night, you didn’t care what kind of neighborhood it was, it was too easy to break into. When he was sober enough, he could walk his ass back to his truck and drive it home.  
     You pulled into his driveway and put the Jeep in park so Jared could get out and open the garage door. He moseyed in and grabbed a water from the refrigerator he had in the garage and guzzled it. You shook your head hoping that it wouldn’t revisit too soon.  
     Once you had the garage door closed and were inside his house, “You staying?” Jared asked.  
     “May as well,” you told him. “Jeff won’t be home until sometime tomorrow.”  
     You didn’t think you’d be staying out late that night, but it was after midnight and you both had worked that day. You really just wanted to sleep, but Jared’s place was a solid 30-minute drive from Jeff’s house and you weren’t sure you’d make it home.  
     “Make yourself at home, you know where everything is,” he said as he walked away to his room. You knew he’d be taking a shower.   
     It wasn’t until you opened the door to the closet that it finally occurred to you that maybe you spent too much time at Jared’s place. In the closet was your extra blanket, you needed it even in winter because Jared kept it so cold inside, and a basket with your toiletries and clothes to sleep in inside of it.  
     A sick feeling settled into your stomach and it wasn’t because of the rum. You grabbed your things and went into the spare bathroom to take a shower, wrestling with what the right thing to do was. Do you take a shower and go home or do you stay? Either way, the stale bar smell needed to go, not to mention the Jared cooties. Stay or go? Your guilt was winning.  
     Finishing quickly, because sleep was calling to you, you went out to the kitchen to find Jared rummaging for food. He had a pile of food out on the counter that could feed five people. He was wearing gym shorts and that was it. You were cold and you had on sweats and one of Jeff’s old t-shirts and were still cold. Jared had the metabolism of a flippin’ humming bird, not even a hint that he was cold.  
     You put your folded clothes on the coffee table and the basket with your toiletries on top. It made you think to check your phone for messages. You reached inside your purse to the inside pocket for your phone. Holding it in your hand, you were almost scared to turn on the display. The blue light was flashing though…  
     Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit… Jeff had called and text twice.  
     “WHERE ARE YOU?” was the text from Jeff.  
     “What’s the matter?” Jared asked, shockingly sober and holding another water.  
     “Jare, I need to go, Jeff is looking for me. I think he’s home,” you told him, your guilt was rising quickly.

     Jeff went by the bar first, it had already closed. He didn’t see (Y|N)’s Jeep, but he did see a lonely truck he assumed was Jared’s. He made the trip to Jared’s house in moments. He knew the way, he’d picked up (Y|N) several times, but he’d never been inside or met Jared, she was always outside waiting for him when he would pull up and the house would be dark.  
     This time, it was like the house was lit up like it was on fire. Good. He’d been thinking about what he was gonna say when he walked in, better to have everybody on the same page. Now was as good a time as any to get the answers to questions that had been bugging the shit out of him. If he had to beat Jared’s ass, so be it.  
     Amped up, he took the steps to the porch in one leap and was banging on the door like a madman and ringing the bell at the same time.

     The banging on the door scared the hell out of you. Before you could say anything, Jared was walking toward the door and opening it.  
     “Who the hell…” you got up to see who it was.  
     You heard the door bang against the wall and boots on the tile floor. Jeff’s deep voice echoed off the floor and walls. Jeff looked around the corner and saw you. You had obviously just showered and he reeled around to look at Jared standing there in just his shorts. It looked bad, it looked really bad.  
     “One of you want to tell me what the FUCK is going on here?!” his voice boomed.  
     You wanted to hug him to calm him down, but he didn’t put off the “I need a hug” vibe.  
     “Jared, this is Jeff. Jeff, this is Jared,” you introduced them.  
     “Nice to finally meet you,” Jared held out his hand. “(Y|N) usually hauls my ass back home so I can pass out in my own bed.”  
     Jeff didn’t take Jared’s hand. “Is that what happened tonight?” he asked.  
     You only nodded.  
     “I wanted to go out tonight. (Y|N) can’t drop the big sister, production-assistant-protector role, so she came with me.”  
     “I make sure he gets home safe and if I’m too drunk, I stay here, if not, I go home,” you told Jeff. “I was just getting ready to leave.” You pointed at your clothes and things stacked on the coffee table.  
     “You keep things here? When I’m gone, just how often are you here?” he was starting to fume. “Are you two screwing around behind my back?”  
     “Don’t you dare give me that shit. I know full fucking well you go out for drinks after work and don’t think I don’t see how women look at you. I was one of them for fucks sake. I saw Serena every damn day for a month be all over you and that was at work where there was no alcohol to loosen inhibitions. Do I say one goddamned word about it? Fuck no, because I trust you and know that you wouldn’t do that to our relationship!” A terrible thought suddenly wriggled its way into your brain, “Are you screwing around on me? Are you trying to make this about me when it’s you that’s messing around?”  
     Jeff was taken aback by your words.  
     “Yeah, kinda sucks when someone assumes you’re fucking around, doesn’t it? Maybe I should just stay here after all,” you couldn’t believe this shit was happening. Todd had screwed around on you and now Jeff? He didn’t really answer your question, maybe he was just too stunned? It was kinda tough to be with someone that didn’t trust you to hang out with your guy friend. Jared had never made a pass at you and you were pretty sure he meant it the way it sounded when he said you were doing your “big sister” thing. Jared was definitely a good-looking guy and you loved him, like family, but he was so not your type. Jeff was your type, the real-life version of tall, dark and handsome. He was goofy as all hell and his laugh was so great. You loved to tease him as much as he liked to be dorky for you. And damnit, when your guy laughs (hard) at your stupid jokes, what’s not to love? Jealousy. Yeah, you did spend a lot of time with Jared. Yeah, you kept things at his house. At the time, you didn’t feel guilty. Showering and putting on clean clothes after a night at the bar didn’t seem like a bad thing, until that night.  
     Going home with Jeff was not something you wanted to do at the moment. For the first time ever, you didn’t want to be anywhere near him. He was right there and you couldn’t even look at him now. You left everything right where it was, including a too-shocked-to-move Jared, and went to the spare room. At that moment, there was no point in discussing it further, you would only yell and that wasn’t helpful. A few moments later, you heard the front door close and Jared turned the locks, then Jeff’s truck as he drove away. It was two days to Valentine’s Day.  
     Jared knocked on your door, “(Y|N), can I come in?”  
     “I don’t want to talk, Jared,” you called out to him.  
     “That’s bullshit, you make me talk when I don’t want to,” he said and tried the door, finding it unlocked.  
     He sat on the end of the bed.  
     “So, that could have gone better,” he said.   
     You were lying on your bed, a sobbing mess.  
     “Did he say anything to you?” you sobbed between breaths.  
     “He killed me with his eyes, but that was it,” Jared answered.  
     “Why’d I walk away?” you sniffled.  
     “You’re stubborn, just like him, I’m guessing. Call him tomorrow……later, and talk it out,” he suggested. “For now, I’ll get you tissues,” he said, his big hand slapping your thigh as he got up to get the tissues.  
     Boy, I really fucked this up, you thought.  
     You laid on the bed trying to calm down. Rational thought was not coming to you. You were mad that Jeff didn’t trust you to be with Jared and not make a pass at him and that he thought you wouldn’t stop him if he did make a move. Jeff would be gone for a week or two at a time and you never even considered he might mess around. Lord knows, he would get plenty of opportunities any time he went out. If you let yourself think about what he was doing when he was out without you, you would probably get jealous, too.  
     You made yourself think about things from Jeff’s perspective. The nights where you’d call him to pick you up from a friend’s, no… a guy’s house that he’d never met. A guy you talked about often and spent all day with. A guy you would go out for drinks with and made sure he got home safe. A guy at whose house you kept a change of clothes and toiletries.  
     You wrestled with what to do for a long time. Go home now? Sleep then go? Stay at Jared’s (or somewhere) for a few days until Jeff wanted you back? Eventually, you fell into a restless, nightmare-ish, sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the incident. Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day  
     You were sitting on Jared’s couch holding your knees to your chest.  
     “For someone so smart, you sure are dumb,” Jared said from behind the couch. He came around the side to sit with you. “And stubborn!”  
     “Thank you,” you were so miserable.  
     “Suck it up, wussie. I know he’s called you. Did you talk to him?”  
     You shook your head.  
     “Why the hell not?”  
     “I was still mad,” you answered.  
     “And now?!”  
     Part of you wanted to make Jeff suffer and grovel, and another part wanted to run to him and beg for forgiveness…and make-up sex. You’d never been this mad at him before. He’d hurt your feelings before going to New Zealand, but that was different, wasn’t it?  
     Fuck, not really. Before he’d said and done something stupid. In his mind, it was for a good reason. This time, you could see how he would have legit concern about what was going on. You banged your head down onto your knees.  
     “SHIT!” you yelled at your stomach.  
     Jared patted you hard on your back, “Atta girl, I knew you’d get there. Now what I’m about to say, I want you to take to heart and listen to me for once. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my house.” He said staring you down. There was no malice in his voice, just frank talk for his stubborn friend. “Go home to the guy that would break me in two if you stay here another day. You two are stupid for each other, like, actually dumb. GO!”  
     Jared followed you as you stuffed your things into a grocery bag and went to your Jeep in the garage. You put your bag on the passenger seat and paused to look at Jared through the open door.  
     “It’ll be fine. Just don’t always think you know what’s best and, for God’s sake, let the man talk,” he instructed.  
     “See you tomorrow?” you asked. You both were expected on set in the morning.  
     He nodded, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Fix this, (Y|N).”  
     You started the Jeep and slowly made your way out of Jared’s neighborhood and back to the freeway to go home.   
     You went inside through the garage side entrance. Your grocery bag made a clunking sound as you set it on top of the dryer. Jeff’s truck and motorcycles were still in the garage, so you were reasonably sure he was home, but Bisou hadn’t come running to greet you. Jeff liked to sit on the patio while Bisou played in the yard, he’d even bought a heater so he could sit out there longer. You’d bought a heavy blanket so you both could sit out there and be warm together.  
     You were so scared. Confrontation was not your favorite thing. When it was for work, you could go toe-to-toe with anyone. When it came to the people most important to you, the people you loved, you would crumble in a moment.  
     There was something different about the kitchen and the house. The smell of lemon was in the air. He’d cleaned, he’d cleaned everything. The kitchen was never dirty, but now, it was shiny, squeaky clean. The wood floors in the rest of the house were bright and shiny, too. Everything was picked up and put away.   
     You were standing in the same spot you were in the very first time you ever went to Jeff’s house. You could see him sitting on the patio love seat, the big blanket you bought on his lap. He saw you and you knew he saw you, he didn’t twitch. It was only 10am, but you went to the liquor cabinet in the dining room. You noticed the whisky was gone, but your Captain Morgan was still there. That rum was the only reason you kept Coke in the house. You grabbed the bottle, made the drinks in tall glasses and took them outside to the patio.

     He hadn’t slept, not a whole night in three days. He’d doze off for an hour here and there, but nothing that could really be called rest. He felt terrible. He’d doubted her, let his insecurity get the better of him and accused her of messing around behind his back. It surprised him when she turned it back around on him. Gilmore Girls had a surprisingly rigorous filming schedule, (Y|N) was gone all the time. He knew how it was, how they worked hard all week then needed to blow off steam. Hell, he only came home early because he’d decided to NOT go to the wrap party.   
     It took him a while, but he finally admitted to himself that it bothered him (Y|N) was spending so much time with another man, let alone one who was much younger than himself and one closer to her own age. He’d told himself that it wasn’t a big deal, and it hadn’t been, until this filming season. He’d let it go too long and he’d lost his temper instead of talking to her about it. He’d called her the day after it happened, but she didn’t answer.   
     Before he’d stupidly run his mouth off, she was ready to come home with him. He’d text her a couple times asking her to please come home, to let him explain. He got no answer. Not knowing what else to do with himself, and as a sort of punishment, he supposed, he’d cleaned the entire house. Probably hadn’t been that clean in years, if ever…  
     He’d slept more that morning, but he woke with a start only a few hours later. He took the big, fluffy blanket she’d bought and went outside with Bisou. It was around 10 when he heard the garage. A few more minutes and he saw her inside the house. He thought he might be seeing things. Wishing for her. It wasn’t until she was standing in front of him, offering a glass that he realized she was real.

     You put the glass down on the table in front of him and yours as well because Bisou needed attention. You let the dog tackle you and smother you with kisses. You scratched her in all of her favorite places and when she was satisfied, you threw her ball for her a few times. Jeff didn’t say anything and neither did you. Finally, you turned around to look at Jeff. He looked how you felt.  
     “I’m sorry,” you said. “I never meant to make you feel this way. I love you. Jared is my friend and only ever my friend. We just blew off steam. More often than not, I just took him home. It was only a few times that I stayed the night in his spare room.” You leaned over to get your glass and take a deep drink of the liquid. “I didn’t realize how it looked to you, and I’m sorry I accused you of screwing around, too.”  
     He leaned over and picked up his glass. He took a drink and made eye-contact with you and his eyes flicked to the space next to him. He flipped the blanket up so you could sit and be covered, too. You sat next to him, unsure of how close he wanted you. As he put the blanket around your hip, his hand nudged you closer. You scooted closer so you were hip to hip and you were tucked into his side with his arm around you. The blanket kept you both warm and cozy.   
     “I’m sorry, too, sweetheart. I was,” his voice hitched.  
     You looked up at him and his face was a little red, his eyes teary.  
     “I was worried. I know you were working and I know you’re dedicated to the job, but I was worried that you spent so much time with Jared because you wanted a younger man,” he explained. “And when I saw you with him the other night, it just looked bad.”  
     You snake your free hand up his body, turning your face to him. You put your hand on his cheek and turn his face to you. You’re both emotional people and neither of you was doing too well just then. You quickly reach up to kiss his lips.  
     “Are we okay?” you ask him. “I don’t want to lose you. You’re the only one. There isn’t anything I need to worry about, right?”  
     His arm came down around you and crushed you to him.  
     It took him a few moments before he could speak, “Yeah, we’re good. You’re the only one I want. No one else compares.” He rubbed your back under the blanket and you enjoyed the feel of his body against your cheek.  
     “Happy fuckin’ Valentine’s Day,” you said.  
     “Babe, I need you,” he said.  
     You looked up into his eyes and you didn’t need further explanation. You stood up and took his hand. He threw the blanket over his arm and told Bisou, “Inside!” as you led him in. The sex wasn’t rough, but he definitely let you know who you belonged to.  
     You woke up tangled in sheets and Jeff. Jeff was sleeping soundly. There was still daylight coming in through the windows and, judging by your stomach, it was sometime after noon. You tried to see the clock without disturbing Jeff. 2pm. You moved as carefully as you could out of the hold Jeff had on you. He seemed to be so exhausted, he barely noticed when you crawled out of bed. You took a quick shower and went to go make the best Valentine’s Day lunch/dinner for the love of your life.

     Jeff woke up to the smell of meat cooking and the sound of swing music on the stereo. God, I love that woman, he thought. (Y|N) didn’t like to cook, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t. Just by the smells that were hitting him, he knew she was grilling him a steak, her a chicken breast and that pasta dish she made that he couldn’t stop eating. He looked at the clock, it was almost 3pm.   
     He rolled out of bed and took a nice hot shower. He was still tired, but he had a feeling he’d sleep better that night. When he was done, he pulled on his favorite lounge pants and a t-shirt then made his way to the kitchen. He peeked around the corner to find her with her hair piled on top of her head, wearing a shirt she stole from him and some sort of pants that went down to her calves. She was bustling about singing along to one of the songs.  
     “K-A-L-A-M-A-Z-O-O-O-OHHHHH what a gal, a real pip-a-roooooo,” she sang.  
     “Whatcha makin’?” he interrupted.  
     She spun around and smiled brightly. Thank God, she didn’t hold a grudge.  
     “Wanna help?” she asked. “I really shouldn’t be trying to get your steak right. I always make mine ‘done’.”  
     He went over to where she was standing. He pulled her to him and kissed her. She put her hands on his waist and made a sound that made him want to take her back to bed. If he wasn’t so hungry, he would have done just that. 

     Despite a rough start to the day, it ended better than you could have hoped. You sat next to Jeff at the table, you two couldn’t keep your hands off each other. It was like when you first got together with Jeff. You promised yourself you would never do anything that would ever cause him to call into question your love for him.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader has an event at her job. Someone close to the reader is hurt.

The very next day, you were at work and Jeff called you, he never did that, you always called him. That’s how you did it when only one of you was working.  
     “What’s wrong?” you answered.  
     “It’s Norman. He was in an accident. It’s bad,” he said.  
     “How bad. He’s not…” you couldn’t bring yourself to say it.  
     “Don’t know yet. He went through a window. His face is messed up, not sure about his eye. I wanted you to know before it was all over the news,” he said.  
     “What do you want to do?” you asked him. “Do you know where he is yet?”  
     “No, I need to call Helena later. She called to let me know what happened, she’s still his emergency contact. When I know more, I’ll let you know,” he said.  
     You ended the call and worked the rest of the day in a daze. When work was finished for the day, you went to the production office and asked them if you could have time off to visit your friend. They were less than pleased with your request. They said that you could have vacation time, but not until the current episode was completed, in seven days.  
     “This is such bullshit! I never ask you guys for anything. Do you know that in my entire working career, I’ve never taken a sick day or a vacation day? I need this time off. He’s like family to me and my boyfriend,” you argued.  
     “Okay,” the executive producer said, “Just make it permanent. Make sure your forwarding address is correct with HR before you leave.”  
     “You know, I’ve worked some shit jobs before, and this one is probably #2 on the list. Everybody fucking hates each other here. It’s amazing that you have such a following. Fuck you, I don’t need this job,” you said.   
     You were about to storm out when the executive called after you. “That’s a shitty attitude that won’t get you hired with this studio again.”  
     You reeled around and went back to lean over the desk, “Did you just fucking threaten me? Believe it or not, a pee-on like me has a lot of friends in high places. Maybe you should be more concerned for YOUR future with the studio!”  
     That felt good, that felt really good, and slamming the door on the way out was the icing on the cake. It wasn’t entirely true, but that jerk didn’t know. Jeff would probably be surprised, but you knew he’d back you up on your decision.  
     A few days later, you and Jeff were out on the patio, sitting together under the big fluffy blanket when Jeff got the information he needed from Helena. Norman was in critical condition and the German hospital was not going to let him have visitors for two more days. Two days passed and Helena called Jeff in tears saying that Norman was awake and didn’t want any visitors. She was pissed, too, but she respected his wishes because of Mingus. You and Jeff didn’t have to respect a damn thing.  
     “Oh, hell no, we’re going,” you told Jeff.  
     “I dunno, babe, he can be pretty stubborn, too,” he said, secretly proud of her.  
     “Stubborn, huh? I’ve had scarier people than Norman Reedus scream at me,” you said. “I’m gonna book us a trip.”  
     “Sweetheart, not that I’m knocking your decision to quit, but aren’t you going to be itching for work once we come back?” he asked.  
     You smiled. You had an ace in the hole. Not only did you get an email from Bob Singer, you also heard from Kim Manners telling you to get transferred to Vancouver for a new show he would be on to direct.  
     “I got an email from Bob a couple days ago. He wants me on his crew in Vancouver. He’s got a show that he’s trying to get picked up with Kripke and Manners. It’s pretty fucking awesome. There’s a catch though,” you said.  
     Jeff smirked, “You mean the fact that you told an executive producer to go fuck himself?”  
     “I didn’t say that…per se… but the dick had it coming. I wasn’t going to stand there and let him shit on me because I wanted to go see my friend,” you explained.  
     “Whoa, I’m on your side, sweetheart. I’m just saying, if you’re gonna do it, you should get on it now so if you need to smooth shit over, you can,” he said.  
     He was right, he usually was, you just didn’t like to point it out. “What about you, do you want me to take it? Vancouver isn’t a tough flight, but it’ll suck none the less,” you said.  
     Jeff had finally found a manager that was going to do him justice. Pilot season was coming soon and you’d checked with them to make sure they had their hustle-game going. Jeff was excited, he had a bunch of auditions that were coming up. Most of them either filmed in Vancouver or somewhere around Hollywood. Your job would mean you would be steady in Vancouver for filming season.  
     “(Y|N), I think you’ll be miserable if you don’t have steady work. I love you to death, but I can’t take you around the house all day,” he said smiling.  
     You elbowed him in the ribs. “Watch it pal, I’m the one that washes your clothes, I can make things disappear.”  
     He chuckled, “I’m kidding!” He rubbed his ribs. “Your elbows are so bony! You know I always want you close, but sometimes that’s just not going to work out. It’ll be cool if I get a job in Vancouver.”  
     “Okay, I’ll give Bob a call later and let him know what happened,” you told him. 

     Your call to Bob had gone well. Telling him what you’d done when you left Gilmore Girls had him rolling.  
     “Don’t worry about it, kid,” he’d said, “I’m the one who gets to make the call on who is hired. Call me when you get back from Germany, we’ll figure out when to get you up to Vancouver.”  
     “Thanks Bob, I’m looking forward to it,” you told him, sincerely grateful you had a friend like him. The worry about not having a job to go back to was starting to get to you, just like Jeff said. It had taken a few days to actually talk to Bob and you were glad when you finally heard his voice.  
     As if he knew what you were thinking, he said, “It’s good to talk to you, kid. I need my best up here, and you’re it. I think this show has at least a couple good years in it. The boards look really good.”  
     “Can’t wait to see it. Can you send me a script at all, or do I need to bribe Kripke?” you joked.  
     “Let’s set up a meet up in Vancouver and we can talk details then,” he suggested.  
     You told Bob that sounded good and you managed to work out a meet with Bob at the same time that Jeff was going to do some auditions up there. It was something nice to look forward to, Vancouver was a beautiful city and it would be nice to spend time there with Jeff.

     A week after Helena had called last, you were standing outside of Norman’s room listening to the English-speaking nurse trying to talk to him. He wasn’t having it. The nurse came back to the door where you were waiting for her. She opened the door to only show her face, Norman was still going on.  
     “I’m sorry miss, he is adamant, no visitors,” she said.  
     “Why doesn’t anyone listen!? Tell her to go the fuck away!” you hear Norman ranting, his voice sounded odd.  
     “Miss, he’s not himself…” she said.  
     “I’m not leaving until I see him,” you told her flatly. Jeff had given up in favor of food. He’d lasted seven hours before he got hungry enough to leave. “He can be a stubborn ass all he wants, but I perfected it!!” you yelled so he could hear. You looked back to the nurse, “If he pitches a fit, I’ll say I snuck in so you don’t get in trouble.”  
     She looked down and to the inside of the room. You knew you had her. She let go of the door so you could walk in. She squeezed your arm in passing. You rolled your shoulders and gave your arms a shake. He was gonna be tear into you as much as he could.  
     “I told you not to fucking come!” he bellowed.  
     Yep, he was mad. He started throwing things in your general direction, missing you to the right. The left side of his face was in bad shape, still covered in bandages. You’d seen worse, but not by much. When he was out of ammo, you approached his bed. You went to his right side of the bed so he could see you without strain. You didn’t say anything for a moment. He wouldn’t look at you, either.  
     “You gonna tell me it’s not that bad?” he asked.  
     “Nope, you look like shit,” you told him.  
     That made him turn to look at you. “You’re a shitty friend.”  
     “No, I’m not, and neither is Jeff. He’s just out getting us food. You can do this alone if you want, but we wanted to make sure you knew that we’d be here if you needed us,” you told him. “We stopped at Helena’s before we came. She gave us this for you.” You pulled out a photo frame and handed it to him.  
     You watched as he looked at the recent picture of Mingus.  
     After a long pause, he laid the photo down on his lap, “What if I don’t look the same…after? What if he doesn’t recognize me?”  
     You took his hand in yours and squeezed. “You’re still the same person, Norm. I think he’s happy you’re still alive. He’s just worried you won’t come home.” He looked a little emotional, “Word is still out on whether or not you have brain damage, though.”  
     “Dick,” he muttered.  
     “Asshole,” you said.  
     He’d had a couple surgeries already, but the swelling was still prominent. His face had been wrapped tight and though he was sitting at an angle, it was tough for him to talk for extended periods yet. He had very little feeling in his face, said it was like half his head was full of Novocain all the time making it hard for him to speak. You weren’t going to blow smoke up his ass about his condition. He was out of the toughest part, but he still needed at least one more surgery before they’d let him leave.   
     Jeff had come back about twenty minutes after you’d barged in. He’d brought food back for all of you and you ate a bit and helped Norman with his. With his face feeling numb, eating was a challenge. You just picked up what didn’t stay in and didn’t make a fuss over it.   
    Jeff noticed when Norman was having a hard time keeping his eye open and he nudged you and nodded at Norm. Jeff kissed his forehead on his right side and said his goodbye.  
     “Love you, brother,” he said.  
     “Is there any place on your head where you can feel anything?” you asked him.  
     He pointed to his right cheek.  
     Your heart broke a little for him, but he was tough and you knew he would be fine. You took his right hand, put your left on the back of his neck and kissed him quickly on his cheek. “I love you, too, Norman,” you looked in his eyes. “We have a few more days here before we need to go back. Don’t pitch a hissy when we come back, okay?”  
     “You’re so mean to me,” he said sleepily.  
     “Only ‘cause I like you,” you smirked and stood up.  
     “Jesus, what do you do to people you don’t like?” he grumbled.  
     “I’m sure they live peaceful, happy lives,” you squeezed his hand.  
     “Lucky fucks,” he said.  
     You waved and left him to rest.  
     Jeff and you went to visit Norman during normal visiting hours each of the next few days and brought him things to do so he could kill time. You found him some English crossword puzzles and magazines to look at. When you weren’t with Norman, you and Jeff did some touristy things and, for the most part, had a good time. Seeing Norman all jacked up wasn’t a happy thing, but it was good to see him and you both hoped it would help to lift his spirits. It was time to go home and get back to work.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> House hunting in Vancouver, shooting Supernatural.

You and Jeff had just gotten to your hotel room for your stay in Vancouver. As soon as you stepped inside the room, you were immediately drawn to the view from your 10th story room. The sun was shining brightly. Even from so high up, you could see the people down below out and about taking advantage of the gorgeous day. You could see Jeff in the reflection of the window. He was pushing the bags over to the dresser. You watched as he backed up toward the door and took a running leap and do a swan-dive onto the bed.   
     You turned around to see your boyfriend lying face-down, spread-eagle on the bed. His hand raised off the bed and made a circular motion. Jeff’s muffled voice came to you from the fluffy duvet, “Babe, you gotta try this bed, it’s amazing!”  
     “Move your arm,” you tell him. He quickly moves it down to his side and you take a running leap from the window to the bed and land on your back next to Jeff. The bed and bedding let you feel like you’re enveloped by their coziness. “Oh my god, it IS amazing,” you say rolling toward him.  
     “We don’t need to go looking at rentals, right? We can just stay here and never move again,” Jeff was lying on his side now looking at you.  
     Jeff and you had shot the pilot for a show that was now called “Supernatural,” and had the good fortune to have the show be picked up for a full season of 22 episodes. It had been a good day at your house when you got the call. Not only did you both have a job for, at least a little while, it would also be in the same city and TOGETHER.   
     The WB had picked up the show. They weren’t exactly throwing money at the production, so you’d been given the title of Key Production Assistant. It was a job that laid between production coordinator and production assistant. It meant you’d be managing all of the PAs and making sure they knew how to do their job as well as doing the same work as what you were teaching.   
     “So, you’re still gonna be bossing me around?” Jeff asked.  
     You grinned at him, “You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if I didn’t boss you around.”  
     He pulled you close, his arm around you, “I admit nothing.”  
     You couldn’t live in a hotel forever. Neither one of you would be very happy stuck in a hotel room. You both needed to be able to get outside. Bisou needed a place to be run. Looking for a place to live while filming would suck, especially since it was so tough to find a reasonably priced place to live in Vancouver, but it needed to be done. Before you left, you’d found a realtor to help you out and he’d set up a bunch of rentals for you and Jeff to look at in the day and a half you had before shooting started.  
     “No, my love, we need to do adulty things,” you said, also not moving.  
     “Can we eat first?” he wanted to know.  
     “Restaurant or room service?” you asked. You watched his eyes as they started to twinkle. You knew that look.  
     “Room service,” you said at the same time.  
     Two hours later, you were sitting in the back of Steve Carter’s SUV, eating McDonald’s. He was your realtor and was taking you to the first of many cottages you would see that day.  
     “Thanks for letting us eat in your car,” you told Steve.  
     “Yeah, sorry, man, we ah, fell asleep when we got to the room. Exhausted,” Jeff said and he winked at you.

     Tenth house, tenth time you saw that look on Jeff’s face. He stood with his arms above his head, his palms resting flat on the ceiling, your eyes trailed down to the skin that was showing under his t-shirt. You smiled to yourself, but Jeff was not amused, he looked at you with stony eyes.  
     Steve came in the room, “So, what do you think? Isn’t it quaint?”  
     Your eyes went from Jeff to Steve, then back to Jeff, who still had his hands on the ceiling.  
     “Steve, I don’t think a cottage is going to cut it. We need land. We have a dog that needs to run. I love it up here, I would like a vacation home, at the very least. Do you have anything like that that you could show us?” you asked him.  
     Steve nodded. “I have a client that is a bit eccentric. Wants to sell his land to people that will love it as much as he did. He just wants it to stay in the buyer’s family, it’s legally binding. It is ten acres of land and there’s a small house on the property, and here’s the kicker, it’s near the water.”  
     You looked at Jeff, he had been listening to Steve talk, still with his hands on the ceiling, “Does the house have high ceilings?”  
     Steve smiled, “Let’s go take a look.”  
     Steve stopped at a gate, punched in a code and waited for the gate to open.  
     “I just want to remind you, that if you do choose this deal, it is legally binding. No selling the property,” he reiterated. “That’s the only string. He doesn’t even need or want to meet you. He’s left it all up to me.”  
     The gate opened and he pulled through. There were trees everywhere. The road you were on was paved though, and that was a plus. It only took a few moments to have the road pull into a clearing and you could finally see the house. It was small, looked like it was barely more than a trailer, but it looked really nice. As you got closer to the small house, you could see that the house was oriented toward an opening in the trees that overlooked a lake. You gasped.  
     “Wait ‘til you see inside,” Steve smiled.  
     Steve unlocked the door to what looked like a small, but very nicely done trailer home. It was long and narrow like a trailer, but it wasn’t. It was something different. The outside looked like a regular home. Steve told you it was only a one bedroom, but that was okay because you needed something that you could manage on your own if Jeff needed to go to another job. As soon as you stepped in the door, you knew. This was the one.   
     The deck on the front was large and screened in so it was like a second living space. The front of the home had a wall of windows with a door in the center. Inside to the left was a fireplace and entertainment center, on the right was the living room. As you wend further inside, there was a small dining area that was attached to the kitchen that boasted full-sized appliances. A small hall led to another entry and the only bathroom that was more like a spa than a utilitarian bathroom. At the end of the hall was the master bedroom which had a full wall of windows and access to a back deck.  
     “I’ll leave you two to talk about it. I’ll be out front when you’re ready,” Steve told you.  
     You and Jeff were standing in the master bedroom. As soon as Steve left, Jeff threw his arms above his head, “Babe! Look! It fits me!” He was hopping up and down in circles.  
     You chuckled at your silly boyfriend. The ceilings were high, at least ten feet. He would have to jump and jump high to reach it.  
     “I think this is the one,” you told Jeff.  
     “Hell yes!” he exclaimed.   
SUPERNATURAL  
     “Reset!” the AD called out.  
     You were standing with Jensen making sure he stayed where he was needed. The reset wouldn’t take that long. Jensen wasn’t as difficult to manage as Jared could be. They were out in the woods and the scene was getting intense. They’d had to do it three times now and still hadn’t gotten what the director wanted. Jensen was not obviously annoyed, but you could see it. Reading people was a good quality to have as a PA. You were all tired. Working night shoots was absolute torture. The talent could get a nap in here and there, but not the PAs. You were dead on your feet and Jensen wasn’t too far behind. Sometimes when you get really tired, you get punchy and the dumbest shit makes you laugh.  
     “Dude, did you hear about the guy who invented Lifesavers?” you asked, already unable to contain your giggles. Jensen shook his head. “He…” snicker “made a mint.”  
     Jensen only chuckled.   
     “Why did they Clydesdale give the pony a glass of water?” You were giggling again. “Because it was a little horse!”  
     You were both rolling now, “Okay, okay!” Jensen calmed himself to speak, “How do you make a Kleenex dance?” the giggles were contagious, “Put a little boogie in it!”  
     “OKAY! Settle!” the AD called out.  
     You socked Jensen in the shoulder, “Settle, bitch.”  
     And that was how you became friends with Jensen Ackles.  
     After filming episode 2, “Wendigo,” you, Jared, and Jensen were like The Three Musketeers. When Jeff was filming, it was even better. While you worked hard being key PA, you did manage to have a little free time and you were usually in one of their three trailers spending time with one or all of them. You thought you may have finally found your family in these crazy people.


	23. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after pilot season and before the house hunting. The reader finds out how Norman is and as a bonus to the bonus, there’s a receipe in there for my pasta salad.

You and Jeff had already finished filming the pilot for Supernatural, but he was away doing a guest spot for “Grey’s Anatomy.” If he got on as a regular, he was going to be a busy bee because you’d just gotten word that “Supernatural” had been picked up. He decided to stay in a little motel while filming. It was far enough away that getting home each night was just not an option and still be able to get rest.   
     You were sitting at home with Bisou and were going to watch “Blade II.” It was one of those days where you could watch whatever movie you wanted to watch and there wouldn’t be anyone to give you a hard time about what you picked. When Jeff or Norman were there, they usually out-voted you and picked something that would scare the hell out of you. You were sure that Jeff did it so you would hide your face on him. When it was just you and one of the boys, it was different. Norman usually let you pick. He would never admit it, but you were sure he liked the rom-coms you picked. You weren’t completely inconsiderate though, you liked action films a lot, too. 

     The movie had just started when you heard the familiar banging and doorbell ringing that Norman liked to do. He thought it was funny as hell to scare the shit out of you. He’d called Jeff to let him know he was back in the states a week ago, so him banging on the door wasn’t a terrible shock, but surprising none the less.   
     Bisou took off for the door like a shot. She knew the knock, too. She was practically vibrating by the time you caught up to her. You turned the locks and opened the door. Neither you nor Bisou was disappointed by the sight that greeted you. Norman Reedus.  
     “Norman!! Get your ass in here!” you practically yanked Norman inside. Not only was it hot outside and you were trying to keep Bisou in, you also missed your friend, you hadn’t seen him since you visited him in Germany. Once he was inside, he dropped his bag and scooped you up into a bear hug. Norman always had this way of making you feel like the most important person in the world.   
     When he put you back on your feet you looked up at him and held his face in your hands, “Let me look at you!”  
     His hair had grown shaggy and the skin around his left eye was still pink and puffy. He had a titanium eye socket now and the bruising was finally starting to go away. The last time you’d talked to him, he couldn’t feel his face except for a small spot on his lip and his right cheek.  
     “How is it? Frankenstein?” he asked.  
     You shook your head. “Nah, you’re still a sexy sumbitch.” He looked like he was disappointed, the weirdo. You grinned at him and pulled his right cheek to you to give him a kiss. “C’mon, throw your bag in your room and then come watch a movie with me.”  
     About ten minutes later, a showered and fresh Norman came back out to the living room (wearing the Truffle Shuffle shirt you got him from the side trip you and Jeff took to Astoria, Oregon) and flopped down on the couch next to you. He smelled really good, as usual.  
     When you watched movies, you always had the curtains drawn and turned down the AC so it was nice and cold. Sometimes you popped popcorn, but not this time, you hadn’t had dinner yet.  
     “‘Bout time, I was freezing waiting for you,” you told him.  
     “Excuse me for washing the airplane off me,” he sassed back.  
     You sat on his left and gave him an “accidental” elbow to the ribs as you pulled a fluffy blanket over the two of you. This was nothing unusual for either of you. When Norman would stay with you and Jeff, the three of you would end up on the couch under the giant blanket you’d bought. Sometimes you spent all day on that couch watching movies, any one of you falling asleep at any given time. Having Norman around had become a comfort to you. He was always a good distraction from missing Jeff.  
     It didn’t take long for the movie to get going before Norman started talking. “Is this ‘Blade II’?”  
    “Yeah, how’d you know?” you asked back.  
     He shook his head at you, “You are the worst friend ever.”  
     “What? Why?!” you had no idea why he was saying that this time. He often said you were the worst for whatever reason struck him at the time, and you usually deserved it.  
     “You’ll see,” he was perturbed.  
     Soon enough, you saw why. Norman slowly turned his head to look at you. When his face came up on the screen, he was full on staring you down. He moved so close to you, you couldn’t even turn to look at him.  
     “Say it,” he breathed on you.  
     You put your hand over his face and pushed him away. “Norm, I haven’t seen this since it came out. I just forgot! I swear!”  
     “Have you seen ANYTHING I’ve done?” he asked.  
     “Well… ‘Boondocks’ and this,” you said sheepishly.  
     “See? Worst friend ever,” he said.  
     You looked at him. He was smirking at you.   
     “I hate you so bad,” you said, trying to look serious.  
     “No, you don’t, you love me,” he said putting his arm around you.  
     You leaned into his side, giving up arguing. “Yeah, I do.”  
     After Norman got blown up (in the movie), you decided you’d had enough of the movie and went to go make dinner for you both. You’d bought chicken breasts and the vegetables you needed to make your pasta that morning. It didn’t take long for you to season the chicken and throw it in the oven. While that was cooking, you got started on cutting up the tomatoes and green onions you’d need to make the pasta. It surprised you when Norman came into the kitchen to see if you needed help.  
     “Yeah, get some big bowls out of the cupboard there,” you pointed at a low cupboard with your foot. “Then you can get out the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley and almond shards. Do you like almonds?”  
     “Uh, yeah, I guess,” he said looking around for all of the things you listed.  
     “Good, grab the parmesan block too and the grater,” you told him. “Then you can help me dice these tomatoes and onions.”  
     Once the 6 large tomatoes were seeded and diced, they went into one of the small bowls. Norman got out a pot and started to boil some water for you while you started on cutting up a bundle and a half of green onions. You knew you got fresh ones when you had to stop a few times to wipe your eyes.   
     “Ahh, my eyes!” Norman whined.  
     “Suck it up, Sally,” you told him, sniffing. “Put the bowtie noodles in when that starts to boil.”  
     “Slave-driver,” he muttered wiping his eyes.  
     “Do you wanna eat or not?” sometimes you felt like you had another little brother, other than Jared, even though Norman was ten years older than you. Finishing the onions, you dumped them into the same bowl with the tomatoes and started adding the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and parsley. You mixed it all together and checked it for taste. You added a bit more of the vinegar and salt and then it tasted right to you. The almond shards and parmesan went on last. Whenever you made this dish, Jeff couldn’t stop eating it until it was gone.   
     Norman pulled the noodles off heat and dumped them into the colander in the sink then rinsed them with cold water. It took a bit longer for the chicken to get done, but that gave the vegetables and noodles time to cool in the fridge. While the chicken finished cooking, you and Norman took Bisou outside to play.  
     “You guys have a nice life here,” Norman said, throwing Bisou’s ball.  
     You stood in the shade watching him. You had a special kind of love for Norman. You argued about almost everything. He did things just to annoy the shit out of you, and yet, he was always there if you needed him. From that first time you met him, when he came to Burbank to help you with the Norton, you knew he would always be in your life. You loved him with all your heart, not in the same way that you loved Jeff, this was different. Norman was one of those people that you picked to be family, no matter what, he’d always be your Norman.  
     “Yeah, it’s pretty awesome,” you were feeling grateful.   
     “You know, I’ve known Jeff a long time,” Norman began tentatively, “and Jeff and Anya were married a long time, too.”  
     You looked at him wondering where in the hell he was going with this.  
     “Yeah?”  
     “He was never this happy with her. You two are meant to be together,” he said. He threw the ball for Bisou, his gaze slowly meeting yours, “You know that, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if he asks you to marry him.”  
     You were flabbergasted. No way in hell were you expecting those words to come out of Norman’s mouth. You loved Jeff and missed him terribly when he was gone, and you knew he loved you, but enough to get married? That was a tough one to wrap your head around.   
     He stopped mid-throw to look at you. A smile spread across his face and Bisou barked at him to throw her ball. Norman tossed the ball and said, “Just invite me to the wedding.”  
     “Hell yeah, you’re gonna be my maid of honor,” you recovered enough to tease him.   
     “Fuckin-a, just don’t pick something hideous that makes me look fat. I wanna look pretty on your big day,” he played back. “Wanna go for a ride after we eat?” he asked.  
     “Stop flirting with me, you dirty dog,” you said. “Oh, you mean bikes,” you snickered. “Hell yes.”  
     “I’m telling Jeff,” he said.


	24. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the set of Supernatural

Jeff was back to shoot episode 16 and you could not have been happier, except for the early morning call. Yeah, you were used to crazy schedules and working and sleeping at weird times, but you’d missed your love and neither one of you slept much the night before. You looked at the clock from the back seat of the suburban, 0430. The driver pulled into the lot and parked. Jeff was asleep with his arm around you.  
     You nuzzled your face into his neck and snaked your hand inside his jacket. His arm curled around you tighter and he kissed your temple.  
     You moved to kiss him proper, “Babe…(kiss)…we’re at work…(kiss)…get up…(kiss).”  
     His eyes opened and looked at you sleepily. “Sweetheart, either I’m awake, or I’m up. You can’t have both and one is inappropriate in the workplace.” He gave you his mischievous grin that showed off his dimples.  
     It had been a few weeks since you’d seen him and you’d gotten less than twelve hours with him before being picked up that morning. Like always, you’d missed him terribly. You took his hand and tried to get out of the suburban, but he didn’t move.   
    “We’ll finish this conversation later,” he told you. “I need a minute.”  
     It only took you a second to realize what he meant, “I’m not sorry. Meet you for lunch?”  
     “I think you better,” he said.  
     You opened the door and the cold air hit you immediately. Briefly, you thought you should leave the door open for Jeff. You just chuckled to yourself and closed the door with a grin.  
     “Good, you’re here,” you turned to see Bob Singer. He had Kim Manners, that week’s director, with him. “We need to talk. Let’s go to my office.”  
     “You are out of your goddamned minds,” there was no question. They had finally gone off the deep end.  
     Kripke walked into Bob’s office and closed the door. “Told her, huh?”  
     Bob and Kim both gave him an affirmative nod. Eric pulled a chair over to sit by you. He leaned over, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped.  
     “(Y|N), we know you know the script. We’ve all seen you going over lines with the boys. I’ve seen you work, we all have. You already know the part. You’re 100% all the time, and you’re GOOD,” Eric emphasized. “Believe me, none of us has a problem telling an actor if they did shit work.”  
     “And if I fuck it up?” you asked, your face feeling hot.  
     “You won’t, kid,” Bob said. “I’ve yet to see a bad day of work out of you.”  
     You looked at Kim, the person you’d worked with the longest. He said more with his eyes than his mouth and his eyes were damn-near begging you to agree.  
     “What do you want me to do first? What about the PAs?!” you asked wondering how in the hell you’d been talked into being in front of the camera again.  
     “I’ll take you over to wardrobe. Then you can go to makeup from there,” Kim said.  
     “Don’t worry about the PAs, you trained them well. I’m sure you’ll whip them into shape if they need it,” Bob said.  
     Kripke smacked the front of your knee, “You need a copy of the script?”  
     “No, I have one,” you held up your trusty binder. In fact, you didn’t even need that. Your memory was good enough, and you had read through it a few times, you could recall almost anything in it.   
     You weren’t panicking, but your mind was reeling just the same. There was a lot of dialog with Sam and Dean, even John. You’d watched Jared work for a long time and you hoped that he wouldn’t do too much to make you screw up. Jensen’s character, Dean, didn’t like yours much, so that would be interesting. Getting yelled at was always a fun time. Your character had minimal interaction with John, but it was going to be weird as all hell acting with Jeff…  
     Kim took you to wardrobe and let you get out of the golf cart. You turned to look back at him.  
     “This wasn’t in my contract,” you said.  
     He smirked, “It says, ‘and other duties as needed’.”  
     You were not amused. “I don’t want to let you down.”  
     He smiled a little, “You won’t kiddo. Wardrobe, makeup, set.”  
     You waved him away, “Yeah, I know the routine.”  
     You put your hand on the railing to the wardrobe trailer. For one fleeting moment, you had the urge to bolt. It’ll be okay, you encouraged yourself and climbed the stairs into the trailer.  
     Once you were on set and doing the work, you were just fine. Yeah, it scared the hell out of you, but it was more because you didn’t want to look like the novice you were. Jared and Jensen were so good at what they did, it was easy for you to play along. Jeff was fantastic too. He gave you so much so that you could react well to him, too.   
     Kripke had given you the background of your character and you dove into it. You found your inner badass and became an avenging angel. If you’d had more time, you would have worked out harder. Jensen was only a year older than you and you were having a hard time keeping up with him, but you did it. Your lines came out breathy, but understandable. You only asked him to slow down once.  
     “You surprise me,” Jensen said after one take and you walked back to the start.  
     You were winded and had your hands above your head. It was a running scene and it was on the third take. It hadn’t been the first scene with a running sequence, either.  
     “How?” came out in a huff.  
     “This is what, the third time in front for you?” You nodded your answer and took another deep breath. “You know your stuff. You go balls to the wall the whole time. It’s…nice to get that in return, especially from someone who is really new.”  
     “Thanks,” you said. You didn’t know how to express your gratitude properly. “That means a lot to me. Really. I’ve watched a lot of people act and I’ve tried really hard to not make the mistakes I thought they made.”  
     “Why haven’t you done more?” he asked you.  
     You were both tired. Jensen was finally showing signs of fatigue.  
     “It scares the hell out of me,” you confessed. “I had paralyzing stage-fright in school and I had a really hard time making myself do it again. The only reason it’s going so well now is because of you, Jeff and Jared being so great.”  
     “Okay! Almost ready!” the AD called out.  
     “It’d be cool if your character could come back,” Jensen said.  
     Thank God you were covered in make-up, you were blushing hotly at the compliment. “Yeah, that’d be cool,” you heard yourself say. You must have been deprived of oxygen too long, because you were clearly delusional. “Oh my God, don’t tell anyone I said that!”  
     Jensen laughed, “Why not?”  
     “’Cause they might do it!” you were serious.  
     “Places! Settle!” the AD called.  
     Jensen grinned at you and bounced to get warm and ready to run again. You followed his lead and bounced from foot to foot. This take had to be the last one, the light was almost up and the shot was supposed to be dusky.  
     “Get out of your head. I can see you thinking. You’re the avenger now,” he told you.  
     “I’m a badass,” you said more for yourself than for Jensen. Just like that, you and Jensen switched over to your characters and were ready to shoot as Kim called “Action!” and you both took off like a shot.  
WRAP PARTY  
     Jeff handed you your double Cap ‘n’ Coke. He always seemed to know what you needed. You took the tumbler from him and he put his arm around you, pulling you in close so you could tuck into his side. You slipped your arm around his waist as you took a long drag from the straw. Every wrong move you made over the last week was running on constant play-back in your head. The moments started to slow down and fade out as you took comfort in the feel of Jeff’s strong shoulder under your cheek. Whether he knew it or not, he always did the things you needed most. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the heat from Jeff’s body that did it, but you felt yourself melt into him.  
     You felt a rumble come from his chest. “Sweetheart, you were amazing. You totally killed it, stop worrying,” he held you tight.  
     He tipped your chin up to meet his smiling gaze. God, when he looked at you like that…you’d move mountains for that man. The masculine smell of his cologne, soap and smoke was so tantalizing, you didn’t feel much like partying. You and Jeff had always been able to know what the other is thinking at any given time just by looking.   
     His grin broadened even further. “Two drinks. Then we go,” he said, his mouth so close but not touching yours, the big tease.  
     “Fine, I’ll be sociable,” you told him and he finally kissed you, giving you a hint of what was to come later.


	25. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> P.S. I Love You!!

FLASHBACK  
     Sandy liked (Y|N), she liked her a lot. It was obvious to her and Richard that their son was smitten with the girl. She could see what it was Jeff liked about her. She had this quiet way about her, but it was easy to see that she would fight like a hellcat for a worthy cause. Sandy noticed right away that, despite her age, she was wise beyond her years and that she could easily keep up with her son. They liked a lot of the same things and both she and Richard could tell that it was all genuine. They’d been fooled in the past. (Y|N) was different.  
     She’d talked to Richard about her plan and he’d agreed with her. She told Jeff to meet her and Richard in the living room. It took her a little bit to find the small box. She grabbed it out of the drawer and went down to meet her men.  
     “What’s this all about, Mom,” Jeff asked her.  
     “Your mom and I needed to talk to you about (Y|N),” Richard started.  
     Jeff laid his head back on the couch cushion. They’d tried to warn him about Anya years ago. “Mom, Dad, I swear, (Y|N) is different, I really like her a lot. She’s cool as hell, she learned to ride a bike, she doesn’t take any shit from anybody. I really want you guys to like her. Hell, she even likes Norman, thinks he’s sweet.”  
     “Honey,” Sandy held up her hand to quiet Jeff, “we like her.”  
     Jeff looked to his dad who nodded, “Could tell right away, son.”  
     “So, what’s this about then?” he was completely confused.  
     Sandy turned the box over in her hand. She held it out to Jeff for him to take. “That was your grandmother’s, not my mom, your dad’s. It came to us when she passed. Since I already have one, your dad and I thought maybe you’d like to give it to that sweet girl of yours.”  
     A few weeks before Supernatural wrapped for the season (watching the Impala get destroyed hurt the car lover in you), Jeff was getting a lot of attention for both John Winchester and Denny Duquette. His manager was getting in a ton of scripts and one day Jeff had brought home a small stack that had made the cut. He was busy with one and you picked up the one on top that looked like he’d already read it. Sitting down with him on the couch, you started reading it. It was your usual spot for script reading so you had your notebook for making notes as you read and a box of tissues handy if it made you cry.  
     Every time there was a letter from Gerry, you got misty. Jeff seemed oblivious to your tissue usage until it got closer to the end.   
     “Sweetheart, you okay?” he asked.  
     You sniffled, “Jeff, you gotta do this one.” You almost never told him which parts he needed to pursue. He was a big boy and could make his own decisions. “Yeah, this one is really good. It’ll be a good date movie. The TV shows are cool and pay the bills and all, but this… your character gets the girl…and it’s in Ireland and you know what that means.”  
     He grinned at you showing off those dimples you loved.  
     “Castles,” you said at the same time.  
     He called his manager right away and that decision started a whirlwind of activity that culminated in you and Jeff on an airplane to Dublin.

     Prior to leaving for Dublin, you and Jeff had spent a few weeks in upstate New York while Jeff got guitar lessons from Nancy flippin Wilson! Every day when Jeff would get back from a lesson, you would pump him for information. He happily geeked out with you and told you every detail. When he wasn’t practicing guitar, he was listening to Irish dialect CDs. There was nothing in this world hotter than a hot guy playing guitar and speaking with a sexy fucking accent. Jeff was the hottest guy you had ever known and he was yours.  
     You were only a few hours into your flight to Dublin. You looked over at your boyfriend. He had on his headphones and glasses listening to the dialect cd and reading through his script. He was whispering the words and you couldn’t help yourself from giggling. Jeff just flipped you off and kept going, you snickered and went back to your book.  
Ireland  
     Finally, after two consecutive weeks of work, Jeff got a day off. He had two whole days that he could spend with you before he had to go back to set, then there was one more week of work in Ireland, if all things went well. You didn’t have much to do, since you weren’t working, but you did visit the set so you could hang out with Jeff when he wasn’t busy. You didn’t want to do too much around Dublin without him and you only got a few hours here and there with him each day. Now that Jeff had a day off, he was like a kid on Christmas morning.  
     The bed thudded against the wall as Jeff jumped onto the bed next to you.  
     “Sweetheart,” he said into your neck, “Babe, you gotta get up, c’mon!’  
     Groaning as you sat up, “I’m up, I’m up!” You looked at him suspiciously. He was showered and dressed in dark gray slacks and a white button-down shirt. “Did I sleep too late? What time is it?”  
     “No, you’re good. If you get going now, we can still make brunch then get going on the tours,” he said, clearly excited. Normally, you both were not morning people and his cheerful awakeness was a little irritating.  
     Brunch? “Everything okay?” you asked. In the almost seven years you’d known Jeff, you couldn’t remember a single time either of you two had ever gone to brunch, certainly not together.  
     “Sweetheart, everything is perfect,” he told you. You still gave him side-eye, but you went to get in the shower.  
     It didn’t take you long to get ready. The longest part was getting your hair dry. With as windy as it was in Ireland, you were begging for a rats nest if you didn’t dry or put your hair up in some way. Since Jeff was looking snazzy, you put on some leggings and a tunic and your brown leather booties. You thought you looked pretty cute and when you were ready, you and Jeff set off for the day.   
     It took a couple of hours to get to Waterford, but it was worth it. You and Jeff took a tour of the House of Waterford Crystal. Everything was so beautiful. You wanted everything in there. Jeff brought you over to a collection of champagne flutes he liked, the little tag said it was the “Lismore” cut. It was gorgeous. There was a whole set of champagne flutes in that cut.

     “What a lovely couple you two are!” the sales floor lady spoke to you both. “Are you planning a wedding?”  
     Jeff was damn near beaming. You didn’t know what to say. It always flustered you when people noticed that you and Jeff were a couple. He pulled you into his side, saving you from having to say anything.  
     “We’re just looking but these really jumped out at us,” he said to the lady.  
     “Excellent taste, that is our most popular cut,” she said, “Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with.”  
     “Thank you,” Jeff said.  
     Marrying Jeff was not something you thought about often, but it had crossed your mind more than once. There wasn’t anybody you would rather be with. You didn’t need a ring to know where your heart was. You’d never talked about it with him though. You weren’t even sure if it was something he wanted. The idea of marrying him didn’t scare you, but maybe starting a family did. Bisou was practically your baby… having an actual child to take care of… well, if Jeff was there…  
     “You ready to go to the castle now,” Jeff was looking down at you.  
     His voice snapped you out of your daze. “Yeah, let’s go.”

     The tour around the castle and grounds took a long time. It was almost dusk when the guide released the visitors from the tour. Jeff was getting nervous, but he tried his best to hide it from her. He almost lost it at the House of Waterford when the sales lady asked them if they were planning a wedding. He’d arranged for a room at the castle and was planning on taking her to dinner in the castle restaurant. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend his two days off. She’d been thrilled they wouldn’t have to take a cab back to Dublin that night, she’d just wished she had a change of clothes. He loved that she was geeking out as much as he was about staying in a castle for the night. It was just one of the many things that made her perfect for him. She really was his best friend. She laughed at all of his stupid jokes. She meant the world to him and he wanted her with him always.   
     He proudly led her down the stairs, her hand in the crook of his elbow, and into the castle restaurant. The little box was in his pocket, like it had been all day. Still, he patted his leg to make sure it was still there. The firmness of the box reassured him. The host found you a table that had an intimate setting somewhat private from the rest of the diners.  
     He knew a long time ago that she was the one. Even his parents had known. When he took her to meet them, they had given him a ring for this occasion. It was perfect, too. Jeff knew she would love it and it made him really happy that his parents had welcomed her so quickly. It was nice being in Vancouver for part of the year. While filming Supernatural, they had gone to visit his mom and dad a couple times and each time was just as nice as the first.  
     Jeff looked across the table at his beautiful girl eating her roasted chicken and smiled. She always got chicken when she was unfamiliar with a menu. She always said, “It’s really hard to fuck up chicken.” He tended to agree, but he was more willing to try different foods than her, too. Half the time, she shared her chicken with him.  
     “Sweetheart,” he said softly, still a hint of a smile on his face. He waited for her to look up at him.  
     “Yes, my love?” she said. He loved it when she said that. It let him know she was relaxed and in the moment.  
     “You look so beautiful tonight,” he said, enjoying the blush rising on her cheeks, compliments were still hard for her to accept. He laid his right hand across the table for her to take. (Y|N) wiped her fingers on the linen napkin before taking his hand.   
     “Thank you,” she said, covering her smile with her other hand.  
     He looked at the star necklace that always hung around her neck. He’d given it to her almost seven years ago as a reminder that he believed in her and that she had kicked ass on her first job. She said she would always wear it, and she had. He never saw her without it. The same could be said for the earrings he’d given her for her birthday a few years ago. If he tried to call her out on her sentimentality, she would deny it and say, “I just love them” or that “they were the best presents I ever got.” Hell, he was getting emotional just thinking about it.  
     “You know there’s only one thing missing from your outfit,” he said and she looked down at her clothes, but didn’t let go of his hand. She looked up with a “what?” expression in her eyes. “I was wondering, if I gave you something, would you wear it always, like you do the necklace?”  
     “And earrings,” she said tossing her hair back, showing the earrings as a reminder.  
     God, I love her so much.  
     “Do I get a present?!” you asked? The day had already been amazing, and now getting a gift? It couldn’t get much better.  
     Jeff looked a little bit emotional to you, but you dismissed it quickly. He felt things deeply and when he wanted to do something special for you, he sometimes got a little teary, but nothing too dramatic. It always came from a happy place. You waited as he pulled something out of his pocket.   
     “(Y|N), do you know I love you with all of my heart?” he began.  
     Oh shit… what is he doing?!  
     “Yes,” you were scared, heart thumping a frantic beat.  
     It didn’t dawn on you what he was doing when he slipped out of his seat and knelt on the floor next to you.  
     “Would you do me the honor of wearing this,” he opened a small box you hadn’t even noticed, “and be mine forever? Will you marry me?”

     Later, she was in a panic, said she couldn’t remember if she had said “yes” or not. He honestly thought she might pass out when he asked her. He held up her hand in his and showed her the ring he’d put on her left hand. He’d never seen her like this. She was almost crying, couldn’t stop smiling.  
     He was lying in bed in a castle, a fucking castle, and he had his future wife lying next to him. It always sounded like bullshit or a cliché when you’d hear people say, “Make me the happiest man alive…” Well, it wasn’t bullshit, it was the fucking truth. He thought he might explode, he was so happy.


	26. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the big day!

“(Y|N|N)! Where you at girl?!” Norman was calling out to you.  
     “Where else would I be, Norman?!” you called back.   
     Your handsome friend strode into your master bedroom wearing a very nicely cut suit in dark gray. He looked so good when he was dressed up, he’d even done his hair, you noticed. It hadn’t been all that long ago when you told him he would be your maid-of-honor if you and Jeff ever got married. Norman had told you to pick a nice dress for him to wear so he didn’t look fat. He probably would have worn a dress if you’d asked him, he was that kind of friend. If he was comfortable in what you picked, it didn’t matter to him what it was.  
     “There you are,” he said. “You need help with anything?”  
     You were lying flat out on your bed wearing your dress. Sandy had helped you get the dress on. It had about 857 buttons down the back and there was no way Norman was going to be able to have the patience for that. Jeff had been avoiding you all day, he didn’t want to see you in your wedding dress before the big moment. He’d been outside smoking with Jeff and helping get everything in place. You and Jeff were getting married at your house outside Vancouver in the spot that overlooked the water. Norman had been great. He took care of so much for you.  
     He’d made sure the tent was set up and that catering had gotten in there on time. You’d tried to get Julius to do the event, but even he couldn’t make the short deadline. You’d managed to find a local person to do the job and since the party would be reasonably small, it worked out really well. Norman wanted to do the pictures for you and Jeff, but since he was already so busy, he called in a favor from one of his fashion photographer friends who was able to come in on short notice.

     “Yeah, lie down here with me,” you said. “I need to chill before all of the chaos.”  
     He got as close as he could without lying on your dress and let out a deep sigh. “Dude, you have a skylight.”  
     “I know, man. It’s chill as hell,” you said lying there with him, watching the clouds pass over the window. Your hand found his and held it. You turned you head to look at your best friend that wasn’t Jeff.  
     “You’re gorgeous,” he said, looking back at you. “You sure you don’t have a sister?”  
     You squeezed his hand, “I love you, sweetie. I couldn’t have done this without you.”  
     “Love you, too,” he said, “You owe me so big.”  
     You laughed, “Yeah, I really do. You let me know if there is anything I can help you with. You’ve been so good to me, Norman, and you didn’t have to be.”  
     “Stop it, don’t get mushy on me,” he feigned disgust.  
     You rolled over like you were going to smooch him all over his face and he easily slipped out of your reach. It was worth it to make him uncomfortable.   
     You laid back onto your back and held your arms up. “Broooooo, help me up!”  
     He grabbed your hands and pulled you up onto your feet. He looked you up and down, “Seriously, no sister?”  
     “Would you stop?” you giggled.  
     “I don’t want you, I want your hot sister,” he teased.  
     “Hey, screw you! I’m cute as fuck,” you backhanded his shoulder and Norman giggled that stupid giggle of his.  
     You could hear footsteps on the wood floors get closer to you. Richard appeared in the door way to find you and Norman giggling like idiots. Richard was holding your bouquet.  
     “It’s time, sweetheart,” he said so kindly.   
     You hugged Norman quick then went to Richard. He led you out of the front of the house and to the front porch. From there he escorted you across the lawn to where the ceremony would take place. You couldn’t see Jeff, but you knew he was there. You always knew when he was close. As soon as you saw him, there would be no stopping you. That man still drew you in like a moth to the flame, but instead of being consumed by the fire, he only brightened you with his light.   
     Richard stopped with you near the back of the seating area. From there you could see almost all of your property and it was so damned beautiful. Straight out from where you stood was the view of the water and the flowered archway where Jeff would meet you. The chairs were all set up and filled with Jeff’s family and friends. It hurt your heart a little bit that your own family wasn’t there to see you on your big day, but you’d known they would be there with you in spirit. Unknowingly, Richard had worn Old Spice aftershave, and that was something you’d always associated with your own father. You also were wearing your mother’s earrings. When your grandparents had passed, you weren’t thinking clearly enough to grab anything of theirs to remember them, but you did see two cardinals that morning and that helped a little. Their song was so beautiful. The sun was starting to go down and it would set behind the arch where you would marry the best man you had ever known. The only man you could imagine growing old with.

      In the flurry of activity before the wedding, Jeff’s parents had insisted that you and he go to Seattle to visit and take a little bit of a rest from the craziness. Of course, the conversation had drifted back to the wedding, especially since everyone was excited about it. You were all out on the back-patio grilling and drinking and having a good time.  
     “Who is going to give you away?” Sandy suddenly asked.   
     You were sitting across from Richard, who saw your look of horror, without hesitation, said, “I am.” He winked at you and you almost cried.  
     Jeff leaned over to you, “You know, if you ever figure out what a jackass I am, come to your senses and leave me, I’ll never hear the end of it.”  
     You smiled up at him, “What makes you think I don’t know?”  
     “Then I’m slightly concerned about your judgement,” he kissed you. “And I’ll never point it out again. Love you, (Y|N).”

     You were holding on to his arm and leaned into him. “You sure you wanna marry my son?” he asked.  
     That made you chuckle, “Yes. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”  
     “Then how ‘bout we get the show on the road?” he patted your hand and smiled at you. “We’ve got some serious partying to do.”  
     You looked at the man who had become your father, the man who offered to give you away as his own child. Never again would you let someone you cared about not know how you felt. “Richard, I love you. You and Sandy mean more to me than you could know and I love your son so much.”  
     Richard was just like Jeff and started getting emotional. You had to look away, otherwise you’d start bawling. He cleared his throat and got himself under control. Patting your hand, he said, “We love you, too.”  
     “Moonlight Serenade” started playing. It was the song you were listening to when you first met Jeff. It had to be the song you walked down the aisle to him to become Mrs. JD Morgan. It was an odd sight to see, all of your male friends at the front standing up for you and Jeff. You just didn’t have any girl friends! On your side, you had Jared Padalecki and Norman Reedus. On Jeff’s side, he had Kevin Corrigan and Jensen Ackles.   
     Richard had you at the back of the aisle and started walking you. Richard kept rubbing your hand, but it did nothing to quell the butterflies in your stomach. The butterflies didn’t go away until you saw Jeff step up into place. The look in his eyes when he saw you calmed your nerves. His smile was so bright, you couldn’t help but return it. You almost burst out laughing.  
     The ceremony was simple and you couldn’t stop looking at Jeff’s handsome face. Even though you were terrified, his soft smile and hint of tears in his eyes helped you get through your own fears. It was easy to get lost in his eyes and the justice of the peace had to repeat himself more than once for you. When he would look at you like that, when you got lost in him, you always knew what he was thinking. You knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would do everything in his power to take care of you, to let you know how loved you were and always would be.  
     When it got to the “you may kiss your bride” part, there were sniffles all around, including you and Jeff, and you coulda sworn you heard Norm sniffle, too. Jeff kissed you and you kissed him back. You looked up at the tall, dark and handsome man. The man who gave you his family. The man who made you believe that you could love someone and live happily ever after. Jeff was your best friend, lover and confidant…and now, husband. You’d gotten a second chance at a happy life and you had WON.


	27. Bonus Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First bonus chapter after the main work was completed. 
> 
> This chapter takes place about 3-ish years after the main story ended.

Jeff was knocking on the door again. “Baby, let me in, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

The cold tile of the bathroom floor was the only place you wanted to be. You were in no mood to be bothered by anything, not even your husband. You were too busy putting last night’s dinner in the toilet. Pooling your last bit of energy, you reached up and unlocked the door. It immediately opened to a very worried looking Jeff.

“I’m okay,” you didn’t even believe yourself.

“Do you think it’s food poisoning?” you almost felt bad for him. He was the one who cooked dinner last night.

“I’m the only one puking, damnit.” No, you didn’t feel bad for him at all. “Pretty sure I’m dying.”

He sat down on the floor with you but didn’t touch you. He had learned you hated being touched when you were sick, especially if you were hot, too.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked.

A plethora of Medieval torture devices and what he could do with them to himself came to mind, but you stopped yourself in time to say, “Just go buy a Walgreens!”

“What about you? Are you sure you want me to go?” he asked.

“Yes, goddamnit!” you snapped.

An hour later, you’d made it off the bathroom floor and had ventured out onto the patio. Jeff had found a wonderful old farmhouse outside of Rhinebeck, New York. The whole house needed renovations, but the patio was perfect. The view was incredible. You’d grown up in the Midwest and the land there was so flat, very slightly rolling hills were a treat.

Jeff had bought some amazing patio furniture and that was where you parked your sorry ass. Though it was the middle of summer, the patio was cool and the breeze was helping to calm down the nausea. You were in your favorite spot on the loveseat and Bisou followed you out. She always seemed to know when you or Jeff were sick. She sat down on the patio floor and leaned against your leg. You reached for her shoulder and patted her thick fur.

“You’re a good girl, Bisou-baby,” you told her. “I’m sure I’m fine.”

Bisou was always within arms-reach when you were sick. She would rather be touching you in some way, but she settled for being close to you. When it was Jeff, she would lay her head on his chest.

Finally, Jeff came back and found you on the porch with Bisou, crunching away on saltines. The nausea hadn’t completely passed but it was better, the crackers were helping. Jeff was carrying 3 bags that were stuffed with his purchases from Walgreens. He took the spot next to you and patted Bisou. Leaning over to dig into the bags. You watched with hidden amusement as he pulled out everything the store had for nausea, heartburn, and indigestion. He even got 7-Up and more crackers for you.

You were sorry you’d snapped at him earlier, “Thank you, my love. I’m sure this will help. My mom used to give me 7-Up and crackers when I was sick like this.”

“Mine too,” he admitted. There were two boxes left in the bag. He was still leaned over, holding the bag in both hands.

“I talked to the pharmacist and told her about how you were feeling. She thought we might need to try these,” he said and handed you the bag. “I know we’ve both been working hard and barely have time to think, but…”

He was nervous for some reason. You looked into the bag at the two boxes of pregnancy tests. You just sat there staring at them, running through your mental calendar.

“Shit,” you muttered.

“When I was driving back, I was wracking my brain trying to remember when the last one was,” he said.

You pulled out a box and flipped it over in your hands to read the directions. It said it was best to use in the morning, but you weren’t sure you could wait until tomorrow to try it.

You and Jeff had been together a long time, by your standards, and the subject of babies only came up when friends were expecting. Sometimes you and he talked about whether or not you wanted a family together, but nothing definitive was ever said. It just wasn’t something that was on your radar. You weren’t a huge fan of kids, even when you were one, but you knew if you ever had any of your own, you’d love ‘em like crazy. Over the years, you’d met some cool kids, especially Mingus, that had softened you on the idea. Mostly, you were scared because you had no family of your own anymore. Now, you had Jeff, his parents, and your good friends that had become your chosen family. The idea of starting a family was way less scary.

“I don’t know either, actually,” you admitted. “Should I go try it now?”

For as tan as he was, he somehow managed to look pale. You knew he was thinking the same thing as you.

“My bag is in the coat closet,” you told him as you got up.

“Meet you in there,” he said and followed you inside.

You’d finished peeing on the stick and Jeff came around the corner with your binder. You were already packed to go to Vancouver. Pre-production had already started, you needed to get back for your portion of the work, then filming would start a few weeks after. You kept everything in that binder, including your cycle calendar. All you did was circle the days. Searching back through the months, the last days you had circled were a few weeks before Jeff’s birthday. You remembered the week of Jeff’s birthday, even without the notes on the calendar that he was with you in Vancouver. It had been a really good week.

Your heart was hammering in your chest, you could feel the skin on your neck moving over the vein pulsing in your neck.

“Oh my God, Jeff, your birthday,” you whispered.

You and Jeff were sitting on the bathroom floor, backs against the wall. The pregnancy test stick was on top of the closed toilet seat out of view. Jeff had his feet on the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees. Looking at you, you noticed the color had returned to his face.

“That was a damn good week,” he said. “It’ll be okay. You have me, you have a family now. You won’t be alone, I promise. WE can do this, sweetheart. Have I ever broke a promise?”

Nope, not once, you thought. Unable to make the words come out, you just shook your head in response. After a few moments, you got your voice back.

“Do you even want a baby?” you asked and leaned your head on his shoulder.

“(Y|N), I’d do anything for you. Having a baby with you would just be a perk to our already great life. I know we’re both busy, but we can make it work. I know we can. I promise, it will be fine. I don’t want you to worry about anything, okay?”

He knew it was a tall order, and you knew he would do everything in his power to make things easy for you, it’s just how Jeff is. He saw it as his job to make sure you were okay, then he did the things he needed to do.

You reached for the pregnancy test stick, but you wouldn’t look at the results. Terrifying wasn’t a word that could do justice to the thought of carrying a life inside of you. You handed the stick to Jeff and picked up the box so you could stare at the results pictures and NOT look at your own results.

Jeff was shaking next to you. Looking at him, you couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying. His hand slipped up under his glasses to wipe his eyes, then you realized he was smiling, too. He held out the stick so you could see that the result was positive.

* * *

A week later, you were back in Vancouver visiting your doctor on your lunch break from Supernatural. Jeff had come with you and he was just as nervous as you, but he hid it better. The doctor did the blood tests and the doppler to hear the heartbeat and the pelvic exam, all of which confirmed what you already knew. As soon as you were done at the doc’s office, you had to take Jeff to the airport so he could fly to LA, Grey’s had called him back for another guest spot. It was shitty, but you had work to keep you company.

In fact, work was the only thing that kept you going. Thankfully, the morning sickness ended a few weeks after filming started. You were pretty sure the boys knew something was up, but they didn’t ask you about it. Though, they did offer to carry things for you a lot more often than usual. You, very politely, told them to go pound sand and let you do your job.

It was almost September before you could tell Jeff’s parents. He’d insisted you and he go to Seattle to tell them in person. By then, you were almost ready for the appointment that had the ultrasound.

“Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” the tech asked you both.

You and Jeff had talked about it, but it wasn’t until he felt the baby kick for the first time that he really got into it.

“Kick like that? Gotta be a boy,” he’d said.

You countered with, “Maybe SHE is just getting ready to kick all of the boys in the business.”

“If it’s a boy, I’ve only got one dick to worry about, sweetheart. If it’s a girl, I have **_all_** of them to worry about,” he said.

You couldn’t help but laugh. The ultrasound tech was trying to hide her smile, too. Truth was, up until that day, neither one of you could decide if you wanted to know.

“Tell you what,” the tech said, “I’ll put it in an envelope for you and if you want to know, you can open it.”

So, that was what you did and you left the office not knowing the sex of your baby. Jeff trotted ahead a little to get the door of his truck for you. You couldn’t stop staring at the envelope. You climbed in the truck and Jeff closed the door for you and got in on his side.

“Babe,” he said getting your attention.

You looked up at him and he was giving you those puppy-dog eyes that you just loved and could never resist.

“I wanna know,” you both said.

You tore open the envelope, but handed it to Jeff to look.

He pulled out the paper and stared at the words on the paper.

“Holy shit,” he whispered.

“What does it say!” you demanded.

“It says, ‘Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. It’s a girl!’” he said.

“Holy shit,” you whispered.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go to Baby’s R Us,” you said, finally feeling excited. “I want to get all the cool shit.”

Jeff started the truck, “Yeah, okay. Then we’re going to the hardware store.”

You were confused, “The hardware store?”

“We need to beef up security. When we get back to New York, we’ll do the same there. Speaking of houses, should we think about adding on a room at the house here?” he asked.

“Jeff, I love you so much,” you said.

* * *

The next person you and Jeff NEEDED to tell was Norman. Jeff was so excited, he had to tell Norman. He needed someone to talk to about all of the things that were scaring the shit out of him. Things like how scary you were when your hormones where in bitch-mode. You overheard him and Norman talking once.

“Bro, she said she would cut me if I didn’t take my boots off either outside or in the garage from now on,” he said, whispering.

“Dude, Helena said once that if I looked at her a certain way again, she’d kick me out. I don’t, to this day, know what the hell she was talking about. Straight up scary, bro. (Y|N|N)’s cool though. She’ll go back to normal once the baby comes out. But, in the meantime, take off your boots where she says,” he laughed.

As usual, Norman spent the night at the Rhinebeck house with you and Jeff. He liked that you and Jeff were so much closer to him now. It was still quite a drive from Manhattan, but it beat the hell out of a 6-hour flight. He loved you guys, but you knew it was hard for him to justify a visit to Vancouver, especially since Ming was still in Manhattan with Helena. So, when he would come up for a visit to the Rhinebeck house, he would spend the night, sometimes two or three nights.

The next morning, your morning sickness was pretty much gone, and you could make breakfast again without the sight of scrambled eggs sending you over the edge. It was even better that you could go out to the chicken coup and get fresh every morning. Jeff liked to have a “country” breakfast, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to make biscuits and gravy. The best you could do was eggs, bacon, sometimes sausage, toast, and shredded hash browns.

He came around the side of the bar to where you were frying the food at the range. He put his arm around your shoulders, hugging you to his side and kissed your temple.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he said, releasing you.

He was looking at your belly trying to see the bump.

“You can touch. I’m a little worried the baby isn’t going to be very big, but my doctor assured me it’s normal,” you told him.

He put his big hand on your tiny baby bump. The baby was a little bit active and he swore when he thought he felt her kick. You just giggled when he apologized.

“When are you due? Jeff said he wasn’t sure,” he said.

“Well, the official due date is February 1st, but it could be sooner or later. We’ll just see when she’s ready to come out, I guess,” you told him.

He poured himself some coffee and went to sit on the other side of the bar so he could still talk to you while you cooked.

“It’d be cool if she came on January 6th,” he said casually. “That sounds like a good day.”

“Dude, I am NOT having this baby on your birthday,” you flipped over the bacon.

He laughed, “It could happen. When it does, I’ll make you eat your words.”

“Right, right, whatever, pal. How ‘bout we just eat this breakfast?” you asked as Jeff came in.

“Just don’t name her ‘Norma’ or ‘Markina’ or some shit,” he said and grabbed a plate.

Jeff burst out laughing and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “We haven’t decided on a name yet, buddy.”

“Norman, you are the weirdest guy and I love you so much, but we’re not naming this baby Norma. Thank god you’re family,” you said and dished up the bacon and eggs for him.

* * *

With the weather being cool, most people didn’t even know you were pregnant until Christmas when production threw a party before wrapping for the holiday. The weather started getting cold as early as September/October in Vancouver, so it was easy to switch to big sweatshirts and coats to hide your belly. Thankfully, you had a lot of energy still and your avenging angel character wasn’t on the schedule until almost the end of the season.

Of course, there was no way you could have told Jared any sooner, he would have blabbed. You loved him to pieces, but he couldn’t hold a secret like that from everyone in production. Jensen could have kept the secret, but he and Jared were so close, it would have killed him to keep it quiet, so it was just better to not say anything to either of them. Plus, they would have made a big deal out of you working too hard and you just didn’t want to hear it.

When you and Jeff walked into the party, Jeff was in a dark, charcoal colored suit and you were wearing the black dress you wore to the X-Files wrap party so many years ago. It was made of stretchy, t-shirt like material that still hugged you in all the right ways, it just showed off your baby bump, now. You loved that dress, it was so comfortable and it made you feel sexy even though you were just over a month and a half from your due date.

“What the hell is this?!” Jared came rushing over. “Why didn’t you say something?! You were working so hard! (Y|N)!?”

You reached up to your big little brother and pulled him down for a hug. Speaking into his ear, you said, “I’m sorry, sweetie. You know me, I need to work.” You rubbed his back as you held him close. Sometimes show business could be shitty and telling your boss you were pregnant could mean that they wouldn’t let you do the arduous work anymore. They might not let you work at all. That was just something you couldn’t let happen.

You’d had to let Bob know what was going on around Thanksgiving when you got knocked out for a week with the worst flu you’d ever had. You’d needed to be put in the hospital. Bob knew about your hospital visit and he made sure you were in the production office more than out on set or out on location.

“Oh my god, all those times I picked you up and spun you around,” Jared was worried.

“Sweetie, you didn’t hurt me or the baby, I promise,” you assured him.

“And that time you were in the hospital?” Jensen asked.

“Oh, well, I really did have the flu, but it was to monitor me and the baby. I was really, really sick, dehydrated,” you explained.

At eight months pregnant, no one believed you were so far along, but you assured them, you were.

“Look, this kid is practically kicking me in the heart. She’s all tucked up inside me. It’s actually kinda painful at times. She was pushing hard on my ribs one day and I felt her food slip. It was like she was playing a xylophone inside my body,” you told them.

“Oh my god! Dude! Don’t tell me anymore!” Jared exclaimed.

Jensen brought his girlfriend Danneel, whom you really liked. She seemed like a good fit for Jensen. Jared was trying desperately to not be obvious about his attraction to the new girl Genevieve, but he was already scanning the room for her. You were pretty sure they were going to end up together, at some point. She was cool and you liked her, too. Jared seemed a lot happier with her than he had been before she started on the show.

“So, what’s the word on the favorite uncle situation?” Jensen wanted to know.

 _God, I love these guys_ , you thought. “Um, well, not exactly. You guys are the best and if you have any part in this kid’s life, I know I will be more than happy to have either of you around.”

“Oh, c’mon (Y|N|N), you know I’m the better uncle,” Jensen teased.

“Yeah, but I’ll be the FUN uncle,” Jared countered and wiggled his eyebrows.

 _Yeah, everything will be just fine_ , you thought.

* * *

Winter hiatus was almost over and your doctor had advised against travel. The loft in your little house just outside of Vancouver was packed with boxes of diapers, tons of clothes and every other thing you could possibly use for a new baby. Norman had come up to stay with you and Jeff for the New Year and had stayed. He was going to leave on the third, but it had snowed and no one could get out, not even Jeff. It was just too dangerous. Of course, Norman’s birthday was coming soon and you told him just to stay because you wanted to celebrate with him. Your little house was feeling a bit full, though with three people and Bisou.

Jeff had bought a plow blade and put it on your Jeep for you in the first week of October each year. He said he wouldn’t take chances with you being up there alone half the time. Once the snow stopped, he and Norman went out and cleared a path and the long drive out to the highway. It was clear enough that on the night of the 5th, the three of you went out to dinner and a movie together. It was always an enjoyable time when you got to hang out with your boys, doing your favorite things together.

The house was quiet when you woke up. The heartburn you had earlier just wouldn’t go away. When it was like that, you usually got nauseated and sometimes had terrible stomach pain. You went to the bathroom because you were experiencing some terrible stomach pain. You cursed the cheesecake you had for desert a few hours ago. It was two in the morning and your lactose intolerance was acting up. Perfect.

At three a.m., it still hadn’t stopped. You were sure you were just panicking, but thought you should probably call your OB. Between fits of stomach pain and voicemail messages, your doc thought it best you go to the hospital to get checked.

Going into the bedroom, you had to wake Jeff. You sat down on the bed next to him and rubbed his back.

“My love, wake up,” you said. He was lying on his stomach, his hair was all over the place, curling. He had a beard now. He told you it was for winter, but he also knew how you liked it on him. He also hated shaving.

“What’s the matter sweetheart,” he said, but it came out as all one word.

“You need to take me… hhnnnggg,” a pain wrapped around your stomach and down to your crotch. Breathing though it until it passed, “You need to take me to the hospital.”

He popped up for that. Still bleary and not quite awake, “What? What did you say?”

“You need to take me to the hospital,” you said again.

“Shit!” he almost knocked you over getting out of bed.

Preparing for shit was kind of your thing. You’d already packed a bag for yourself, one for the baby and one for Jeff. All he really had to do was get dressed. Instead, he was bouncing around like a chicken with its head cut off.

“Baby, I need you to get on some clothes,” you told him in your PA voice. After that, he was fine and got dressed. He grabbed all three bags and went out to the Jeep to start it.

Norman woke up with all the noise Jeff was making. The deck light was on and it was enough for you and Norman to see each other.

“What the hell?” he rubbed his eyes.

“Sorry bubba,” you said standing by the deck door. You were watching Jeff get the Jeep ready. “I need to go get checked out at the hospital.”

“You okay? What’s going on?”

“Doc thinks I…” _breathe…breathe…breathe…breathe…_ “Doc thinks I might be in labor,” you told him.

“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.

You crossed the small distance to the pull-out couch where he slept during his visits. Leaning down carefully, you brushed his hair back with your hand and kissed his forehead.

“No, honey, you get some sleep. We’ll call you if we end up staying. Just put your ringer on, okay?” you suggested.

“You sure?” You nodded.

Jeff came bounding up the steps and bustled inside. “Jesus fuck it’s cold out there.”

At the hospital, you were admitted for an exam. The nurse you had was very nice and very tiny. Being a person on the taller side, you were a little concerned that she would be able to give you a proper exam. She ended up checking your cervix through a contraction and made you cry.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry, I know that hurts,” she said.

“Lady, if you make my wife cry again, so help me…” Jeff said in a tone that made it very clear what would happen to the woman.

“Yes, Mr. Morgan, I understand, but it had to be done,” she said in response. Poor thing probably heard that every single day.

Eleven billion questions later, none of which you remember, you were admitted to the hospital for being in active labor. By the time you were checked in and checked over, it was almost 6 am. By 7, the anesthesiologist was there and sticking needles in your back. Bless him. After your epidural was in place, you managed to take a nap and not feel a damn thing. Jeff climbed in the bed with you and held you, rubbing “the baby” until you went to sleep. You woke up a few hours later to your muscles telling you it was time to push.

Jeff slipped out from under you and helped you with whatever you needed. Things went quickly after that. The nurses had been monitoring your contractions while you slept. Since you couldn’t feel a thing, they told you when to push. Your doctor came in shortly after and was ready to deliver your baby girl.

“I’m sorry,” a nurse stepped into the room between pushes. “There’s men here that say they’re the uncles? They were very insistent that they come in.”

You were tired, but you couldn’t not smile.

“And the grandparents,” she added.

Happy tears rolled down your cheeks, your family was there.

“Do you want any of them in here?”

“No,” Jeff said. “She doesn’t. Once the baby is out, they can come back.”

After another hour of pushing, your baby girl finally arrived. You laid back on the bed and caught your breath. It was the first time in a long time that you could take a really deep breath again, it felt good. Jeff was bustling about, taking pictures and trying to get a good look at her.

Your baby was early. Not too early, but early enough that the doctor wanted to make sure all of the tests of her health were done, but she assured you, “She’s a good size and seems very healthy, but I want to be sure she’s 100% before I give her the all clear to go home. We’ll call in your pediatrician, too, and have them look her over.”

The doc ran through a few more things with you, but you weren’t really paying attention. You wanted to hold your baby. The nurse finally brought over your baby. You’d never held a baby in your life, but it was like second nature to you. The baby had been crying. As soon as you held her, she settled down and nuzzled in.

“Do you want to try feeding her?” the nurse asked.

You handed the sweet little bundle to Jeff while you and the nurse got you ready to breast feed your newborn. Jeff had held babies before, he was an old pro. Watching him hold his daughter was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen and he had never looked better.

Even though she was crying, Jeff reluctantly handed her back to be fed. He scooted in bed behind you and watched you feed your baby. He was doing three different things, holding you telling you how much he loved you, kissing you, or watching you feed the baby.

The nurse came in and stood at the corner that led to the door. You could hear your brothers outside the room.

“I am so sorry, (Y|N), your brothers are very insistent,” she said.

You spoke loudly, “Tell them to calm their shit and be respectful.” Jeff snickered behind you, he was stroking the baby’s head. “Grands first if they can stand me feeding her, then the boys.”

The nurse smiled at you. “You got it, honey.”

Richard and Sandy were in your room moments later, they were both misty. Sandy came over to the bed on your right side her hands outstretched. She hugged your side and touched the baby at the same time. Sandy was the sweetest mother-in-law ever.

“You look damn good for just having a baby,” she told you.

“I love you, Sandy,” you told her.

“Oh sweetie, I love you, too,” she hugged you again.

Little miss seemed like she was done. Putting everything back in place, Jeff took her and put her on his shoulder to burp her. When she let out an adult sounding burp, Jeff handed her over to Richard and Sandy. Seeing Jeff with his parents was wonderful. It gave you hope that you could do the same thing with him. They’d raised such an all-around great guy. You wanted your baby to turn out to be such a wonderful person as her father.

Richard was having his turn holding the baby. Sandy couldn’t help but ask, “So what is her name? I’m dying to know!”

Jeff looked at you with those bedroom eyes of his… “You wanna tell ‘em?”

The nurse stepped in again, “I’m so sorry, they’re asking again…”

“I’m sorry! Yes, let them in!” you told the nurse.

The room got very small with the three of them coming inside.

Norman came right to you and hugged you. He’d brought you flowers and a little bear for his birthday buddy. He asked if everything was okay and when you assured him they were. He made sure he reminded you that you would be eating your words later. Thanking you for the best birthday present ever, he went to Richard to see the baby.

Jared was next, then Jensen. They were both so sweet to you. You blamed your crazy hormones when you started crying the happy tears again. There was so much talking, so much love in that room. It warmed your heart to see the boys holding your girl. Jeff was so proud. He couldn’t stop looking at her. She was back in his arms and he was smiling at her touching her soft cheeks with the tip of his finger. She looked so small in his arms. He would protect her until his last breath.

The chatter in the room settled and Jeff came to sit by you on the bed. You leaned over on Jeff to look at the sweet little life that had just entered the world not more than two hours ago. You put your arm around Jeff’s back and held his hand that was holding your daughter.

“Nora Grace Morgan.”


End file.
